Ave Maria University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Ave Maria University

Ave Maria University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Ave Maria, Florida (rural: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,298 students of which 1,315 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. Ave Maria University is categorized as “21” 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 41.4%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $24,860, with published in-state tuition of $30,198 and a Pell grant recipient share of 21.0%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,776, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 54.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 78.9%. Graduates earn a median of $49,520 ten years after enrolling, compared with $43,572 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 44200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 59.5% 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.