University of Pennsylvania

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 total reported enrollment of 10,650 students of which 13,139 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. University of Pennsylvania 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 5.4%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,553 and an ACT midpoint of 34. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $28,699, with published in-state tuition of $68,686 and a Pell grant recipient share of 16.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $15,715, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 96.7%, and the first-year retention rate is 98.9%. Graduates earn a median of $111,371 ten years after enrolling, compared with $90,555 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 202200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 89.7% 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.