South Dakota: aid after freshman year

Four-year colleges in South Dakota, ranked by the gap between the average freshman grant and the average grant in later years.

We have IPEDS 2022-23 grant data for 11 four-year colleges in South Dakota. At 4 of them, the average grant for continuing undergraduates was lower than the average freshman grant. The median gap was −$721 per recipient, compared with $1,064 nationally.

The largest gaps: Dakota Wesleyan University ($5,838), Mount Marty University ($3,524), Oglala Lakota College ($3,406). Median gap at public colleges: −$1,201 (7 colleges); at private nonprofits: $2,472 (4 colleges).

Explain the numbers

• Freshman grant: total grant aid to first-time, full-time freshmen divided by the number who got grants (2022-23).
• Later years: the same average for all other degree-seeking undergraduates who got grants, including transfers and part-time students.
• Drop: freshman average minus later-years average. Above zero means later-year recipients averaged less. In South Dakota, 4 of 11 colleges are above zero and 5 meet our traditional 4-year filter.
• Median: half of the colleges in South Dakota have a smaller drop than −$721, half larger.
• IPEDS data runs about two years behind; current-year prices come from state reports where available.

Averages across recipients, not a prediction for one student. Colleges with large part-time or online enrollment are marked; read the methodology.

Source: IPEDS SFA 2022-23.