Duke University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Duke University

Duke University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Durham, North Carolina (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 6,442 students of which 6,626 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. Duke University is categorized as “15” 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 5.7%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,548 and an ACT midpoint of 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $29,612, with published in-state tuition of $68,758 and a Pell grant recipient share of 14.0%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $13,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 96.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 97.9%. Graduates earn a median of $97,800 ten years after enrolling, compared with $85,792 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 124100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 88.5% 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.