American University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for American University

American University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 7,266 students of which 8,861 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. American University is categorized as “16” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 62.0%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,381 and an ACT midpoint of 31. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $41,943, with published in-state tuition of $58,771 and a Pell grant recipient share of 13.9%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $22,750, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 77.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 88.2%. Graduates earn a median of $77,370 ten years after enrolling, compared with $61,328 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 219000.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 78.6% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.