Let’s walk together through what the federal data actually say about this school. Not what a brochure promises, not what a third party says on social media. What the institution itself reported to the United States government, year after year, field by field.
What type of university is it?
University of Pikeville is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. Carnegie, the federal system that classifies this country’s universities, places it among doctoral and professional universities and, separately, in its graduate profile based on degrees awarded in 2019-20, places it in the master’s category rather than the research doctoral category. That information is historical and does not establish which programs it offers today. IPEDS, the official higher education database, does record a doctoral degree as the highest level the institution reports offering, although that also does not tell you whether the specific program your child is interested in extends to that level. Ask the program directly.
Carnegie also describes it as a highly residential school: in the 2019-20 reporting period, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in housing owned by or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. Living on campus is not the same as paying tuition. Room and board are charged separately, and we will get to those numbers.
One more fact from that same classification: Carnegie places this school among institutions that receive many transfer students. If your child plans to come here after studying somewhere else, ask in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label says many students arrive; it does not say how many credits they bring or how many are lost in the transition.
Where it is located. University of Pikeville is in Pikeville, Kentucky, within Pike County. The area around the campus is a remote town setting, not part of a large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, calculate separately where your child would live and how they would get to campus. The census code only identifies the school’s location; it does not say how long the trip from your home would take.
What it is not. University of Pikeville is not recorded as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. Having none of them does not tell you which students it serves, how many Latino students are there, or how your child will feel on that campus. You learn that by talking with someone who already studies there.
A small school with more graduate enrollment than it may seem
University of Pikeville had total fall enrollment of 2,610. That places it in the medium-size band of 1,000 to 4,999 students, and compared with 131 private, four-year, open-admission schools reporting this information, it is on the larger side: between one and three out of every ten schools in that group have more students.
But here is the figure that really matters if your child is just starting college: of that total of 2,610, only 1,596 are undergraduates. The other 1,014 are graduate students, people who have already completed a degree and returned for another credential. The larger number includes graduate enrollment. If your child is entering college, the number that matters is 1,596, not the total.
Who else is in the classroom? Among undergraduates, 2 out of every 100 students were reported as Hispanic or Latino, according to the fall 2023 report. That is a small number. Compared with 131 similar private schools, it falls in the bottom quarter: three out of every four schools in that group reported a higher share. That neither removes the school from the list nor puts it on the list. It only describes who is enrolled today. If your child will be among the few, ask which student groups and support services are available, and talk with a Latino student there before deciding.
Other features of this community: there are almost no adult students—only 4 out of every 100 are between the ages of 25 and 64; there are more women than men, at 58 out of every 100; and most new students, 77 out of every 100, were from Kentucky when they applied.
How the academic year is organized and what the university offers
The calendar follows semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The school reported that it accepts credit from AP exams as well as what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—learning acquired through independent study, work, a portfolio, licenses, or military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the warning that truly matters: saying that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam. It does not say what score is required or whether those credits count toward your child’s degree. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
Academic program offerings. In the latest reported year, University of Pikeville awarded 180 bachelor’s degrees across 18 academic program families. Business and management awarded the most degrees, accounting for 25 out of every 100, but no other family dominates: the offerings are distributed rather than concentrated in a single field. Compared with 130 similar schools, it falls in the quarter with the most program families represented in its bachelor’s-degree details. Still, 18 families with a row in the report do not mean 18 guaranteed majors: one family groups several programs, and a row may report no degrees for that year. Verify the exact program that interests your child.
The student-to-faculty ratio is 14 to 1. That is generally a low ratio, but compared with schools of the same type, it is above the median: half or more of those schools reported the same ratio or a lower one. Both statements are true at the same time. And be careful: this ratio does not tell you the size of a class. It is an institution-level calculation comparing students with instructional staff, not a head count in a first-year classroom.
Additional opportunities. The institution reports study abroad as well as pathways preparing students for teacher certification, including state approval of its program for initial teacher certification.
How admission works, and why selectivity does not apply here
University of Pikeville reported an open-admission policy for all or most first-time undergraduate students. That does not guarantee admission for every applicant: a person must still meet the applicable eligibility conditions, and a specific program may have its own requirements. The published application fee is $0.
Because it has open admissions, three things you would normally see in a university profile simply do not apply here: the acceptance rate, the post-admission enrollment rate, and the policy on using the SAT or ACT. These are not figures the school omitted. IPEDS does not request them under this admission model. If the program that interests your child has its own requirements or enrollment limit within that general policy, confirm that directly with the program.
And transfers deserve their own paragraph because the number carries weight. Of the full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking cohort that entered in 2017, 33 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing here. That is a large share, and the report does not give the reason for any of them. Keep this figure in mind when you reach the graduation section: someone who transfers does not count as a graduate of this school, even if they finish their degree elsewhere. On the other hand, in fall 2023, the institution received 95 students who entered here for the first time after studying at another institution. Its comparison group is too small to show where it stands nationally.
The sticker price and what families actually pay
At University of Pikeville, among 107 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $11,218. Among 43 students from the same population whose EFC family income was from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $13,903; among 73 students whose EFC family income was above $110,000, it was $15,953. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $4,735 between the average for the lowest-income band (107 students) and the average for the highest-income band (73 students). Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $13,819.
Among the 118 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, this one falls in the least expensive quarter for the lowest-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a figure that matters when you build the list of schools to which your child will apply.
None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that governs is the financial aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.
Financial aid is widespread, and so is debt
99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students here received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among recipients, the yearly average was $19,161. Pell, the federal aid program for low-income families, reached 53 out of every 100 students, more than half.
Read that carefully: a high aid figure is not a promise. It is what happened with other students last year. It is neither your probability nor your amount. Ask in writing which applications must be completed, what the deadlines are, and what happens to the scholarship if your child’s grades fall.
Now for the other side, the one almost nobody asks about soon enough: 67 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan last year. That is the majority. Among recipients, the average was $8,001 for that year. If your child borrows a similar amount each year over the four years in the plan, the total comes to about $32,004, not including interest. That number is determined before the first signature, not at the end.
And there is something important that average does not include: it covers only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit-card debt. Nor is it the total debt students have when they graduate, because that calculation would require adding all four years, and that figure is not in this report. The institution also reports a tuition installment-payment plan and participation in a Promise program, two mechanisms worth asking admissions about to determine whether they apply to your child’s situation.
Campus life, athletics, and support
University of Pikeville does have institution-owned housing, on or off campus, with reported capacity for 662 students. No student is universally required to live there, according to the institution’s report, although that does not rule out a separate requirement for a specific program. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week under the largest plan. The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed will be available: request the annual rate, the housing application deadline, and whether a space is guaranteed or applicants go onto a waiting list, all in writing.
The school did not mark any ROTC opportunity in its report, neither the general box nor any of the three branches. Of the four-year institutions in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 did mark it; this school was not among them. That does not establish that no nearby pathway exists, only that none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask about it directly before assuming it is unavailable.
It does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. The membership belongs to the school, not to your child: write directly to the coach of the sport that interests your child, ask whether there is a place on the team and whether that sport offers athletic scholarships, and request the answer in writing.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice it is used very little: only 3 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes remotely; the other 97 took at least one class in person. The library has paid staff, annual spending of $100,000 or more, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary loan. The support services the institution reports include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, participation in Yellow Ribbon, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and service members, and a web address for disability services.
How many stay, and how many graduate?
Here we reach the part that carries the most weight in a family’s decision, so let’s take it slowly.
Retention. Of the 262 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2022, 169 were still enrolled here or had already completed the degree one year later: 65 out of every 100. Compared with 106 similar schools, it is slightly above the midpoint, neither among the best nor among the worst. The other 93 fell outside that count, and the data do not reveal what happened to them: not appearing as retained does not allow you to conclude that someone gave up. They may have transferred, paused their studies, or started working. The data report the outcome, not the causes.
Graduation. Of the 229 first-time, full-time students who entered a bachelor’s-degree program in 2017, 94 had earned a degree from this school six years later: 41 out of every 100. At four years, the figure drops to 29 out of every 100. It is almost evenly split: after six years, 41 had a bachelor’s degree from this school and 59 did not have one from this school. That count tracks only first-time, full-time students; it does not include transfer students or those who started part time. And remember the transfer figure: someone who changed schools and finished elsewhere does not count as a graduate here, even if they completed their degree.
At eight years, with a broader cohort. When IPEDS tracks a larger cohort—1,377 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including first-time students and those with prior postsecondary experience, both full time and part time—57 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school eight years later. Among Pell recipients, the figure was 55 out of every 100, five points below the group without Pell. But if you limit the count to first-time, full-time students within that same cohort, the figure drops to 31 out of every 100, twenty-six points lower. Who you count changes the number dramatically. And 26 out of every 100 were reported as having unknown enrollment status: the report did not determine whether they remained enrolled elsewhere; that does not mean they were not studying, and it does not explain why.
What this article cannot tell you
The official reports contain no information about what a University of Pikeville graduate earns, employment after graduation, or total debt upon completing a degree. That piece of the puzzle requires another source, and it is not authorized in this article.
Putting the pieces together
You now know, with the precision the official data allow, one of the pieces your family needs: what kind of university University of Pikeville is, what it costs on paper and what it ultimately costs according to family income, how people enter, how many stay and how many graduate, and which resources are available on campus.
This piece does not decide on its own. Combine it with what your child wants to study, what they have already built in high school, and what your family can and is willing to pay. If you live far from Kentucky, the questions of transportation and moving are yours to answer. If your child is interested in a specific sport or a military pathway, the answer lies in writing directly to that office, not in this report. If the sticker price frightened you, wait for the financial aid letter before crossing the school off the list.
A plan emerges from that combination: the university, what your child brings, and what your family can do. This article gives you one solid part of that map. You build the rest together at home.
Source: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, using data from the years and periods indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent University of Pikeville or any government agency; this article is independent informational material.