10-yr median earnings
$111,371
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania is a private nonprofit institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Former students earn a median of $111,371 ten years after enrollment at an average net price of $28,699/yr — as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $111,371
- 10-yr median earnings
- 5.4%
- Acceptance rate
- $28,699
- Avg net price / yr
- 96.7%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
University of Pennsylvania pairs top-1% former-student earnings with a highly selective admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 1%
- former-student earnings, US
- 5.4%
- acceptance rate
- 96.7%
- 150%-time completion
- +23%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
City: Large
Carnegie: R1
University of Pennsylvania is a private nonprofit institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania enrolling 10,650 undergraduates, using College Scorecard institution data retrieved in July 2026. The acceptance rate is 5.4% with an average SAT of 1,553. Federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $111,371 ten years after entry. Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort is $28,699. This profile combines source fields with separately labeled PlainCollege comparisons and derived metrics.
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (city: large), with a reported undergraduate enrollment of 10,650 students. 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; University of Pennsylvania is categorized as "Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity" under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Admissions and cost fields are IPEDS-derived values published through the Scorecard and retain their source reporting periods. Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; the income-band fields provide more context but still do not replace an institution's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-derived records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year; the entry cohort includes completers and noncompleters. IPEDS completion and retention rates use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so their denominator is not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not as a causal verdict or an individual forecast.
College Value Score
B
College Value Score
74/100
University of Pennsylvania
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings A+
$111,371
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$28,699
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate A+
96.7%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt D
$15,715
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
90.5%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A+
98.9%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$28,699
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
96.7%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 96.7%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - University of Pennsylvania vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How University of Pennsylvania ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
University of Pennsylvania: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$111,371 Top 1% higher than all other reporting US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
Quick Facts
10,650
Undergraduate enrollment
5.4%
Acceptance rate
1,553
SAT average
96.7%
150%-time completion
$111,371
10-yr median earnings
98.9%
First-year retention
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 5.4% |
| SAT Average | 1,553 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 770 – 800 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 740 – 770 |
| ACT Average | 34 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 34 – 36 |
Share of applicants admitted
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $68,686 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $68,686 |
| Average Net Price | $28,699 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | -$3,012 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $316 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $10,439 |
| Over $110,000 | $55,972 |
16.5%
Pell Grant Rate
9.7%
Federal Loan Rate
$15,715
Median Debt
$167/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at University of Pennsylvania swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $14,851 to $31,229 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as +36.1%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$14,851
Highest year
$31,229
Most recent (2023)
$31,229
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $22,9482023 · $31,229
Over the same years, enrollment went +1.5% (10,606 → 10,768 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
57.2%
Female
18.8%
First Generation
Outcomes
96.7%
150%-Time Completion
98.9%
Retention Rate
$90,555
Median Earnings (6yr)
$111,371
Median Earnings (10yr)
89.7%
Earning Over $25K
90.5%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at University of Pennsylvania by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Finance and Financial Mana…
Finance and Financial Management Services
$316,195 median earnings
- Law
Law
$302,120 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$272,321 median earnings
- Marketing
Marketing
$255,357 median earnings
- International/Globalizatio…
International/Globalization Studies
$253,631 median earnings
- Entrepreneurial and Small …
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations
$252,729 median earnings
- Health Professions and Rel…
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other
$250,392 median earnings
- Advanced/Graduate Dentistr…
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences
$246,660 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at University of Pennsylvania? ▼
University of Pennsylvania is a private nonprofit institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The acceptance rate is 5.4%. The average SAT score is 1,553. Undergraduate enrollment is 10,650 students.
How much do University of Pennsylvania former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at University of Pennsylvania who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $111,371 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $90,555.
How much does University of Pennsylvania cost? ▼
The average net price at University of Pennsylvania is $28,699. In-state tuition is $68,686 and out-of-state tuition is $68,686. Median student debt at graduation is $15,715.
What is the graduation rate at University of Pennsylvania? ▼
University of Pennsylvania has a 96.7% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 98.9%.
Is University of Pennsylvania worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at University of Pennsylvania is $15,715, while former students earn a median of $111,371 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 14% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 90.5% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $167.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
What this means for University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pennsylvania's reported 10-year former-student earnings land in the 100th percentile among reporting colleges.
- The average net price after aid is $28,699 - compare it against schools with similar outcomes but a lower cost.Find similar schools that cost less
- See how this school compares to every other college in Pennsylvania.Browse Pennsylvania
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.