Bowie State University
Bowie, Maryland
- Public
- Suburb
- 5,043 undergrads
- HBCU
- Admit rate
- 72%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $17,835per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 37%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $61,89010 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Founded in 1865, Bowie State University is Maryland's first Historically Black College or University and one of the ten oldest HBCUs in the nation.
Source: Points of Pride | Bowie State
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 72%About 7 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- Not reportedSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- Not reportedSource: College Scorecard
Where you'd stand
We don't have test score or GPA figures for Bowie State University's first-year students yet, so there's nothing to compare your numbers with. The admit rate above is the best guide we have.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $17,835full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $22,321sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition, in-state
- $9,529Source: College Scorecard
- Tuition, out-of-state
- $20,464Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 37%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 68%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $61,89010 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $20,550federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 5,043Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 51%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 36%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD — admits 96%
- Frostburg State University Frostburg, MD — admits 89%
- Virginia State University Petersburg, VA — admits 89%
- Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA — admits 88%
Also worth a look
- Salisbury University Salisbury, MD — admits 87%
- Winona State University Winona, MN — admits 75%
- SUNY Oneonta Oneonta, NY — admits 70%
- SUNY Brockport Brockport, NY — admits 71%
- Ramapo College of New Jersey Mahwah, NJ — admits 71%
- Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO — admits 73%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Bowie State University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
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