Stephen F Austin State University

Gaining admission to Stephen F. Austin State University is relatively straightforward, as the university maintains an open admissions profile. In 2025, the institution recorded an acceptance rate of 94%, which is higher than 89% of all public national universities. In published standings from U.S. News, the university held rank 293 in 2020 and shifted to rank 299 in 2022. Once admitted, however, students demonstrate a relatively low commitment to enroll. The university posted an enrollment yield rate of 17.1% in 2025, placing it higher than 27% of peer schools in its comparison group. This modest yield indicates that the campus often competes with other institutions for prospective applicants. For students planning their applications, the university presents a very accessible admissions threshold where qualified candidates face minimal barrier to acceptance, though families should weigh how well the institution aligns with their long-term academic and geographic preferences.

Applicants to Stephen F. Austin State University face standardized testing expectations that align comfortably below the national median for comprehensive public institutions. For the class entering in 2025, the median SAT score stood at 1060, which was higher than 17% of all public national universities. Looking at score ranges, the middle fifty percent of enrolled students who submitted ACT scores posted composite results between 18 and 24. Test submission rates have decreased substantially across the undergraduate cohort, with less than half of incoming freshmen presenting SAT results and a small minority submitting ACT scores. For high school students planning an application, achieving an SAT score near the institutional median of 1060 or an ACT composite within the middle band provides a competitive profile for general admission. Because testing standards are accessible, prospective candidates with steady secondary school coursework can approach the application process with confidence.

Undergraduate degrees at Stephen F. Austin State University are moderately dispersed rather than concentrated in a narrow set of disciplines. In 2025, the university conferred 1884 bachelor degrees, with the top three undergraduate programs accounting for 27.5% of all graduates. The largest bachelor major was Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other, followed by Registered Nursing and General Business. These high-enrollment disciplines do not hold leading national academic standings; in U.S. News rankings, undergraduate business was ranked 345 and nursing was ranked 506. International students represent a minimal slice of the graduating class, comprising a fractional percentage of bachelor recipients and showing slight participation in nursing and business. Career earnings, however, show solid outcomes in health disciplines. According to 2023 earnings data, graduates in Registered Nursing achieved median first-year earnings of $80909, leading all reported fields at the university. For applicants, this means academic selection should focus on specific professional paths like nursing that deliver strong workplace returns rather than institutional standing.

The student body at Stephen F. Austin State University numbered 10,472 students in 2025, predominantly serving domestic undergraduate learners. Freshmen accounted for 2,186 students, while returning undergraduates formed the majority of the campus. Asian and international students represent very small fractions of the student population. Among incoming freshmen, 23 students identified as Asian, representing 1.1% of the class, while 14 were international students, accounting for 0.6%. Across the returning undergraduate cohort, Asian students made up just over one percent, and international students remained under one percent. In the graduate school, international students numbered 65, making up a larger presence than at the undergraduate level. White students form the overall majority on campus, followed by Hispanic and Black students, and female students consistently represent well over sixty percent of the student body across undergraduate and graduate levels.

Undergraduate enrollment at Stephen F. Austin State University is predominantly made up of traditional college-aged students, while the graduate division encompasses a wider age distribution. In 2025, students aged 18 to 19 made up 38.4% of undergraduates, and those aged 20 to 21 accounted for 31.6%. This concentration of young adults means undergraduate student life revolves largely around students arriving directly from high school. At the graduate level, the student body is more mature and varied. Students aged 22 to 24 represented 28.1% of graduate enrollment in 2025, while those aged 25 to 29 formed 22.9%. Graduate academic life thus integrates recent college finishers alongside working professionals returning for advanced credentials.

International students represent a modest proportion of the student community at Stephen F. Austin State University, though representation differs markedly between degree levels. In 2025, undergraduate international students accounted for 0.9% of the undergraduate body, a figure higher than 9% of all public national universities. This undergraduate proportion has experienced a slight upward trend since 2016. In the graduate school, international presence is notably higher, reaching 4.8% of graduate students in 2025, also rising over the same period. Among degree recipients in 2025, international undergraduate representation remained low, with minor concentrations appearing in fields such as Registered Nursing and general business. At the graduate stage, international master degree recipients showed their highest concentration in Music, General, where they made up 10% of program graduates. For prospective international applicants, these patterns indicate that while the campus community is overwhelmingly domestic, select graduate programs maintain an established international cohort.

Families exploring higher education options around Stephen F. Austin State University can consider several established institutions in the surrounding region. The closest among them is Texas A&M University-College Station, a national university located 121.5 kilometers away and ranked 59 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Closer to Houston, University of Houston operates as a national university situated 137.6 kilometers from campus with a ranking of 137. In the same metropolitan vicinity, Rice University is a national university positioned 138.9 kilometers away and ranked 16. Further west, Baylor University is located 145.6 kilometers from Nacogdoches, holding rank 90 among national universities. These nearby options present a range of public and private universities for applicants comparing institutional settings across eastern Texas.

Campus safety records at Stephen F. Austin State University show that incident reporting is primarily driven by substance policy violations rather than violent crime. In 2025, the university recorded a crime rate of 7.1 per 1,000 students. Over the three-year span from 2023 to 2025, the largest volume of recorded offenses involved disciplinary actions for substance use. Specifically, the university documented 188 disciplinary referrals for liquor violations and 108 disciplinary referrals for drug violations across those years. Law enforcement arrests for drugs and alcohol occurred in smaller quantities over the same timeframe. Violent offenses, including rape and dating violence, were reported in far lower numbers throughout the three-year period. For prospective students and families assessing daily life on campus, these statistics reflect an environment where safety reporting centers heavily on university enforcement of alcohol and drug rules.