Howard University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Howard University

Howard University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Washington, District of Columbia (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 10,108 students of which 11,087 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. Howard 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 41.3%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,213 and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $50,539, with published in-state tuition of $35,810 and a Pell grant recipient share of 40.0%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,500, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 69.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 90.9%. Graduates earn a median of $63,066 ten years after enrolling, compared with $47,379 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 323600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.6% 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.