Grand Valley State University Data & Information Overview
This overview covers the essential stats on Grand Valley State University, including its rankings, majors, diversity, and more. All you need to do to learn more about a stat is click on its tile, and you'll be taken to another page that analyzes that data more closely. Also, you can use the links below to scroll to any section of this page.- Rankings
- Admission and Acceptance
- Faculty
- Retention and Graduation Rates
- Diversity
- Cost
- Student Debt
- Average Earnings
- Location
- Majors
- Online Learning
- Related Schools
Featured schools near , edit
How Well Is Grand Valley State University Ranked?

2021 Rankings
College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.
Grand Valley State University was awarded 154 badges in the 2021 rankings. The highest ranked major at the school is business, management and marketing.
Overall Quality
College Factual ranked GVSU as #377 out of 1,715 colleges and universities in the country on its 2021 Best Colleges list.
Out of the 42 colleges in Michigan, GVSU is ranked at #10.
See all of the rankings for Grand Valley State University.
Is It Hard to Get Into GVSU?
Acceptance Rate
The acceptance rate at Grand Valley State University is 81%. That's higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you'll need good grades and to be able to show that GVSU is a good fit for you.
Average Test Scores
About 76% of students accepted to GVSU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 530 and 620. Math scores were between 520 and 610.
Learn more about Grand Valley State University admissions.
Grand Valley State University Faculty
Student to Faculty Ratio
With a student to faculty ratio of 16 to 1, Grand Valley State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it's a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.
Percent of Full-Time Faculty
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at Grand Valley State University is 67%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Retention and Graduation Rates at Grand Valley State University
Freshmen Retention Rate
The freshmen retention rate of 83% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Grand Valley State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That's certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Graduation Rate
The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor's degree with four years. At GVSU this rate is 37%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Grand Valley State University.
Average Overall Diversity at GVSU
During the 2017-2018 academic year, there were 21,680 undergraduates at GVSU with 19,233 being full-time and 2,447 being part-time.
GVSU Diversity Score
When calculating the overall diversity score for a school, College Factual does not just look at the percentage of women and racial-ethnic minorities*. Instead, it looks to see how good of a mixture a school has with regard to gender, ethnicity, age, and location of origin.
GVSU scored 50.81 out of 100 for overall diversity. This is about average when compared to other colleges and universities in the United States.
How Much Does Grand Valley State University Cost?
The overall average net price of GVSU is $18,019. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.Net Price by Income Group for GVSU
$0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
---|---|---|---|---|
$12,703 | $13,959 | $16,219 | $20,038 | $21,987 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid.Note that the net price is typically less than the published for a school. For more information on the sticker price of GVSU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Student Loan Debt
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At GVSU, approximately 62% of students took out student loans averaging $6,584 a year. That adds up to $26,336 over four years for those students.
The student loan default rate at GVSU is 3.8%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you'll be able to pay back your student loans.
Get more details about paying for Grand Valley State University.
How Much Money Do GVSU Graduates Make?
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor's degree recipients from GVSU make around $42,800 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate's salary of $39,802 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Grand Valley State University make the most money.
Location of Grand Valley State University
Grand Valley State University is a public institution located in Allendale, Michigan. Allendale is considered a suburb and offers tranquility and safety near the excitement of a city center.Get more details about the location of Grand Valley State University.

Contact details for GVSU are given below.
Contact Details | |
---|---|
Address: | 1 Campus Dr, Allendale, MI 49401-9403 |
Phone: | 616-331-2020 |
Website: | www.gvsu.edu |
Facebook: | http://www.facebook.com/grandvalley |
Twitter: | http://www.twitter.com/gvsu |
Grand Valley State University Majors
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 89 majors graduated from Grand Valley State University. Of these students, 5,421 received undergraduate degrees and 1,102 graduated with a master's or doctor's degree. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.Most Popular Majors | Bachelor’s Degrees | Average Salary of Graduates |
---|---|---|
Marketing | 341 | $41,800 |
Health & Physical Education | 292 | NA |
Finance & Financial Management | 281 | $45,700 |
General Psychology | 269 | $28,000 |
Other Health Professions | 258 | $28,900 |
General Education | 232 | $34,800 |
Health/Medical Prep Programs | 230 | $28,900 |
Nursing | 207 | $56,800 |
Management Sciences & Quantitative Methods | 174 | $43,000 |
Public Relations & Advertising | 160 | $34,800 |
Online Learning at GVSU
Online courses area a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
In 2017-2018, 2,406 students took at least one online class at Grand Valley State University. This is an increase from the 1,786 students who took online classes the previous year.
Year | Took at Least One Online Class | Took All Classes Online |
---|---|---|
2017-2018 | 2,406 | 291 |
2016-2017 | 1,786 | 347 |
2015-2016 | 1,474 | 290 |
2014-2015 | 1,269 | 261 |
2013-2014 | 1,121 | 282 |
Learn more about online learning at Grand Valley State University.
Find Out More About Grand Valley State University
Related Schools
If you’re considering Grand Valley State University, here are some more schools you may be interested in knowing more about.
- Eastern Michigan University
- James Madison University
- Saint Cloud State University
- University of Michigan - Flint
- University of South Florida - Main Campus
Curious on how these schools stack up against GVSU? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free interactive tool that lets you compare college on the features that matter most to you!
Notes and References
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
- National Center for Education Statistics
- College Scorecard
- Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
- Image Credit: By Demhem under License
More about our data sources and methodologies.
Featured Schools
![]() |
Southern New Hampshire University
You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Purdue University
Building on Purdue’s mission to provide greater access to affordable, world-class education, Purdue University Global delivers a fully personalized online experience that’s tailored to working adults. By opening the doors to adults who need flexibility to fit learning into their busy lives, we make it possible to achieve a high-quality education from the prestigious Purdue University system—completely online ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Grand Canyon University (GCU)
With a spotlight on intellectual creativity and innovation for the 21stcentury, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at GCU provides a job focused education. It blends the study of traditional humanities in a modern context. Through academic inquiry and beyond the box thinking, the college advances our society and its accomplishments ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Northcentral University
Northcentral University (NCU) was founded to provide accessible, high-quality, online graduate degrees to working professionals. As a regionally accredited, online university, NCU serves students worldwide, focusing on Doctoral and Master's degree programs in the Schools of Business and Technology Management, Education, Psychology, and Marriage and Family Sciences ... Learn More > |
![]() |
Colorado Technical University (CTU)
CTU could help you connect to what matters most: a powerful professional community, aculty who are real-world professionals, and innovative technology ... Learn More > |