James Madison University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for James Madison University

James Madison University operates as a public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 20,888 students of which 22,601 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. James Madison 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 71.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,256 and an ACT midpoint of 27. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $23,322, with published in-state tuition of $14,250 and a Pell grant recipient share of 17.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,093, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 80.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 92.0%. Graduates earn a median of $69,954 ten years after enrolling, compared with $57,438 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 457600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 79.4% 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.