University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI
University of Rhode Island is a public research university in Kingston, Rhode Island, a suburb of a large city, with 13,381 undergraduates. Communication is its signature field: 10% of its bachelor's degrees, two and a half times its share across the colleges we cover. 73% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $69,743 ten years after starting.
University of Rhode Island admitted 20,892 of 28,021 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (74.6%).
- Acceptance rate
- 74.6%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $16,942
- $37,146 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $21,440
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1090–1310
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of Rhode Island is known for
Measured by the 3,616 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Communication
10.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.5% share across the colleges we cover.
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing2928.1% of degrees$96,020+8% vs $88,910 nationally
- Psychology2416.7% of degrees$56,571+12% vs $50,706 nationally
- Communication and Media Studies2005.5% of degrees$64,520+14% vs $56,359 nationally
- Biology1734.8% of degrees$80,379+40% vs $57,214 nationally
- Business Administration, Management and Operations1644.5% of degrees$79,692+17% vs $68,257 nationally
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication1444.0% of degrees$72,328+14% vs $63,560 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Suburb of a large city
Kingston, RI
Undergraduates
13,381
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
17 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of Rhode Island
Three things University of Rhode Island published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
University of Rhode Island files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor, GPA and Recommendations.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
9 admitted from a waitlist of 1,430.
60 students accepted a place on that list, and 9 were admitted from it, 15% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
23% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 1.5% sent an ACT. University of Rhode Island files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
74.6%
20,892 admitted of 28,021 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
1090–1310
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
ACT, middle 50%
26–31
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Average GPA of admitted students
3.65
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
23%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
1.5%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at University of Rhode Island?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What University of Rhode Island costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $16,942 ($37,146 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $34,321. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $21,440 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$16,942
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$37,146
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$34,321
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$21,440
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $34,321 full cost.
- Under $30k$14,368Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$12,923Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$17,803Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$23,394Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$28,460Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
73%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
84%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$69,743
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$22,250
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What University of Rhode Island says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The early round, in counts
Two published rates side by side. Early applicants are a different group of students, so the gap is a fact about those pools, not a lever anyone can pull.
Early Decision
1× the rateEarly Decision admitted 74.3% (150 of 202), against 74.6% in the regular round.
20,742 of 27,819 in the comparison pool.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 1,430
- Accepted the place
- 60
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 9
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Essays on this application
4 essay prompts on the application.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Rhode Island
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- New England Institute of Technology72.7%
- Salve Regina University69.9%
- Rhode Island College81.1%
- Bryant University65.7%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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