by our College Data Analytics TeamGrand Valley State University is a public institution in Allendale, Michigan enrolling 18,854 undergraduates. It accepts 83% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 67%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #430 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 8%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Grand Valley State University ranks #430 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 8%.
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 215 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Grand Valley State University is ranked #430 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
Grand Valley State University also holds the #9 spot on the Best Colleges in Michigan ranking.
See all of the rankings for Grand Valley State University.
The acceptance rate at Grand Valley State University is 83%. 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 Grand Valley State University is a good fit for you.
About 53% of students accepted to Grand Valley State University submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 480 and 600. Math scores were between 460 and 590.
Grand Valley State University received ACT scores from 4% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 30.
Learn more about Grand Valley State University admissions.
With a student to faculty ratio of 15 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.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Grand Valley State University is 66%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
Grand Valley State University has a freshmen retention rate of 76%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Grand Valley State University for first-time, full-time students is 67%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Grand Valley State University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 18,854 undergraduates at Grand Valley State University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Grand Valley State University.
The typical net cost at Grand Valley State University is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,272 | $11,902 | $12,861 | $16,609 | $22,534 |
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 price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Grand Valley State University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Grand Valley State University, approximately 50% of students took out student loans averaging $6,411 a year. That adds up to $25,644 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.2%. 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.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Grand Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $56,118 in their early years. That’s great news for Grand Valley State University students since it is 14% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Grand Valley State University make the most money.
Grand Valley State University is an public institution located in Allendale, Michigan. Allendale is a good match for students who enjoy small-town life. Get more details about the location of Grand Valley State University.
Contact details for Grand Valley State University are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1 Campus Dr, Allendale, MI 49401-9403 |
| Phone: | 6163312020 |
| Website: | www.gvsu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Valley_State_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/grandvalley |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/gvsu |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 27 majors graduated from Grand Valley State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 6,181 | NA |
| General Education | 323 | $39,479 |
| Computer Information Systems | 315 | $62,211 |
| Marketing | 309 | $43,752 |
| Nursing | 290 | $59,822 |
| General Biology | 250 | $31,914 |
| Social Work | 240 | $38,276 |
| General Psychology | 239 | $28,122 |
| Finance & Financial Management | 224 | $47,558 |
| Health & Physical Education | 217 | $27,617 |
9,314 students took at least one online class at Grand Valley State University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Grand Valley State University.
Curious how schools stack up against Grand Valley State University? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
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.
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