1. [College research](/) 2. / 3. Augustana College Research brief & institution hub Copy linkPrint brief # Augustana College IL · Medium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1049 nationally Data snapshot September 27, 2026 · Updated October 21, 2026 Overview[Cost & aid](/school/augustana-college/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/augustana-college/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/augustana-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/augustana-college/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/augustana-college/similar/) ## Overall, Augustana College sits in Azimuth’s 29th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. ### Who it’s a good fit for Augustana College is a private nonprofit university in Rock Island, Illinois, where Business and Biological Sciences lead the degree mix, and access is the strongest pillar, sitting around the average. Graduates earn less than the model predicts for students like them. The model attributes an adding component to the factors it measures and a subtracting component to what it cannot explain, so the earnings picture is mixed. The bottom income band pays less than the published cost, while the top band pays closer to it. Pell students finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and affordability is the weakest pillar. The admission rate is below the median at comparable schools. The largest programs are not the best-paid ones, so a student drawn to Biology or Subject-Area Teacher Education should know that the highest-earning fields are different. ## Augustana College at a glance ### Admissions and outcomes **Admission rate[\[1\]](#hub-data-note-admission)** 62.7% **Six-year completion[\[2\]](#hub-data-note-completion)** 72.9% **Four-year earnings[\[3\]](#hub-data-note-earnings)** $60,377 ### Cost and family borrowing **Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[\[6\]](#hub-data-note-net-price)** $16,865 **Median student debt[\[4\]](#hub-data-note-student-debt)** $27,000 **Median Parent PLUS debt[\[7\]](#hub-data-note-gps)** $37,219 ## Augustana College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[\[5\]](#hub-data-note-rankings) Augustana College is a private nonprofit university in Rock Island, Illinois, enrolling 2,490 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower third of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (29th percentile). Augustana College admits 62.7% of applicants, a rate below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 82.1% return for a second year, against a median of 83.4% for comparable institutions. The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 72.9%, which exceeds the peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 10.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time full-time cohort rather than the entire student body. The four pillars sit close together, with access the strongest (45th percentile) and affordability the weakest (28th). Return and mobility fall between them. The shape is a moderately selective private college with no pillar far ahead of the others. Access is the strongest part of Augustana College’s Azimuth profile, though none of the four pillars sits near the top of nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places access in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Return stands in the 37th percentile and mobility in the 38th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, at the 28th percentile; the access result is the clearer relative strength, while cost remains the profile’s main constraint. 24.0% of undergraduates at Augustana College receive Pell Grants, the federal aid program that serves as the measure of financial access in the Azimuth framework. Azimuth ranks the college #805 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The pillar is shaped by the Pell share and by how those students fare. Pell recipients in the first-time full-time cohort complete at 65.9%, which is 7.0 percentage points below the overall six-year rate for the entering class. Azimuth ranks Augustana College #905 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. [Access and mobility](/analysis/intro-to-college-azimuth-the-data-of-higher-education-in-illinois/) sit near each other in the rankings, with access the higher of the two. [How value-added outcomes are assessed](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) · [How to interpret program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Augustana College rankings in context | Geography | Rank | | --- | --- | | National | #1,049 | | [Illinois](/rankings/best-colleges-in-illinois/) | #48 | | [Midwest](/rankings/best-colleges-in-the-midwest/) | #271 | Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group. ### National pillar percentiles **Economic mobility** National percentile: 38 **Access & reach** National percentile: 45 **[Affordability](/school/augustana-college/cost/)** National percentile: 28 **[Return on investment](/school/augustana-college/outcomes/)** National percentile: 37 01 / Augustana College briefing ## [Augustana College cost & financial aid](/school/augustana-college/cost/)[\[6\]](#hub-data-note-net-price)[\[7\]](#hub-data-note-gps) For aid recipients, Augustana College has an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $22,736, against a published cost of attendance of $63,553 (an average). Published tuition and fees are $51,598, and room and board are $12,502. Average aid offsets $40,817 of the published cost for aid recipients, leaving a substantially lower price than the sticker figure suggests. The peer median net price at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $27,371, with Augustana $4,635 below that figure. Azimuth ranks the college #1,023 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower peer comparison and the affordability rank point in different directions. Augustana College lists a cost of attendance of $63,553 (an average across living arrangements). Aid recipients in the lowest family-income band pay an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $15,787, while those in the highest band pay $28,086. Between them, the lower-middle band averages $16,525, the middle band $16,865, and the upper-middle band $22,405. The gap between the lowest and highest averages is $12,299. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks the college #1,023 for affordability. Aid covers about 64% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $40,817. Published tuition and fees are $51,598, with $12,502 for room and board. The average net price across all aid recipients is $22,736. That figure sits $4,635 below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Federal-loan borrowers who complete leave with median federal student loan debt of $27,000, and 97.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That median is $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing among parent borrowers is $37,219. Your family income Choose a household income range to see estimated net price. $0–30K$30–48K$48–75K$75–110K$110K+ Reported average annual net price · $48–75K**$16,865** After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ. Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary. ### Borrowing and repayment at Augustana College Borrowing is common at Augustana College, where 97.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $24,199; Augustana College is $2,801 above that figure. For separate parent borrowers, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) debt is $37,219. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 64% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $34,985 per borrower. Among those borrowers, including 61% of graduates with federal loans, average cumulative federal debt was $24,497 per borrower. Including 17% of graduates with private loans, average cumulative private debt was $43,894 per borrower. At Augustana College, access is the strongest pillar, but earnings and debt make the investment picture less favorable. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $60,377 four years after completion, which Azimuth places in the 52nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are also weak. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix run from $48,707 in the downside case to $86,631 in the upside case, with $60,377 as the typical scenario. Median federal debt of $27,000 is $2,801 above the peer median of $24,199, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Below-expected earnings and debt above peers point in the same direction. Parent borrowers using [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) loans have median borrowing of $37,219, a figure separate from federal student borrowing. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. [How Financial GPS measures payment burden](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) · [The four risk-and-reward zones](/analysis/4-zones-of-college-risk-and-reward/) Financial GPS ### What does repayment look like? **Institution median student debt** $27,000 **Institution Parent PLUS debt** $37,219 Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included. **Estimated student payment · monthly** $307/mo **Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly** $473/mo Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s. Payment assumptions Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. [Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=augustana-college#student-tool) [Read the full cost & aid brief](/school/augustana-college/cost/) 02 / Augustana College briefing ## [Augustana College career outcomes & earnings](/school/augustana-college/outcomes/)[\[3\]](#hub-data-note-earnings)[\[8\]](#hub-data-note-scenarios)[\[9\]](#hub-data-note-value-added) Augustana College has four-year earnings below both its model expectation and comparable colleges. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,377 four years after completion, in the 52nd percentile. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, is in the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,704. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,412. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,849. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median, the middle value, of $68,250; Augustana’s earnings are $7,873 below it. The model and peer comparisons point in the same direction. At Augustana College, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $60,377 four years after completion. That is $7,873 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. The gap places the university at the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical outcome of $60,377, with a downside of $48,707 and an upside of $86,631. An estimated 34.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. The return measures at Augustana College do not point in one direction. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $60,377 four years after completion, placing them in the 52nd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, and the college sits $7,873 below it. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. [Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 10th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,704. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $18,412. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,849. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the college #924 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $48,707 on the downside to $86,631 on the upside. The peer comparison and model result both sit below their reference measures. Program results range across the fields with the highest reported earnings. Accounting had 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $91,143 four years after completion, at 1.20x the national median for its field. Engineering Physics awarded 12 degrees and had median earnings of $85,993, at 0.96x the national field median. Computer Science had 27 degrees awarded and median earnings of $83,339, at 0.78x the national field median. These field-level figures show a spread rather than a single common earnings pattern. The range of modeled outcomes is wide, so field choice carries real weight in the earnings picture. Scenarios based on the program mix run from $48,707 on the downside to $86,631 on the upside; these are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates. Among individual fields, median earnings four years after completion are $91,143 in Accounting, $85,993 in Engineering Physics, and $83,339 in Computer Science. Those field-level results help explain the spread between the earnings scenarios. At Augustana College, borrowing sits above the peer figure alongside earnings below the model’s expectation. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, and the college’s figure is above it by $2,801. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, varies by family-income band: $15,787 in the lowest-income band, $16,525 in the lower-middle band, $16,865 in the middle band, $22,405 in the upper-middle band, and $28,086 in the highest-income band. Borrowing above peers and below-expected earnings point in the same direction. What explains value-added earnings? **Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.** +$4,704 **Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.** \-$18,412 **Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.** \-$13,708 These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality. [Read the full outcomes brief](/school/augustana-college/outcomes/) 03 / Augustana College briefing ## [Augustana College acceptance rate & admissions](/school/augustana-college/admissions/)[\[1\]](#hub-data-note-admission)[\[10\]](#hub-data-note-sat)[\[11\]](#hub-data-note-retention) In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, Augustana College reported 7,956 first-year applicants, 5,273 admitted applicants, and 671 enrolled students. The federal admission rate was 62.7%, compared with the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). SAT: reported composite scores **Admission rate** 62.7% **25th percentile** 1020 **Median** 1140 **75th percentile** 1280 CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff. [Read the full admissions brief](/school/augustana-college/admissions/) 04 / Augustana College briefing ## [What are the largest majors at Augustana College?](/school/augustana-college/majors/)[\[12\]](#hub-data-note-programs) Augustana College’s listed programs span different median earnings four years after completion, from teacher education to accounting. Accounting has median earnings of $91,143 and 31 degrees awarded. Engineering Physics records $85,993 with 12 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management posts $81,562 and 51 degrees awarded, making it the largest program among these higher-earning fields. At a more moderate earnings level, Subject-Area Teacher Education has median earnings of $52,092 and 59 degrees awarded. The higher figures in accounting, engineering physics, and business sit alongside a more moderate teacher-education figure, showing variation across the fields listed. Program earnings vary widely at Augustana College, so the field chosen matters more than a schoolwide figure alone. Business accounts for 22.6% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and several of the higher-earning fields sit in or near that family. Among programs with reported earnings, Accounting awarded 31 degrees and had median earnings of $91,143 four years after completion. Computer Science awarded 27 degrees and shows $83,339, while Business Administration and Management awarded 51 degrees and shows $81,562. These field-level outcomes span a broad range even among the higher-earning programs. The program mix at Augustana College is anchored by Business, which accounts for 22.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 14.0% and Education at 10.2%. The college has 19 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Biology, at 78 degrees awarded, with Subject-Area Teacher Education next at 59 and Psychology at 52. The highest-earning program is Accounting, where graduates earn a median of $91,143 four years after completion, from 31 degrees awarded. Engineering Physics follows at $85,993, a smaller program with 12 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management, the fourth-largest program at 51 degrees, has median earnings of $81,562 and a benchmark ratio of 1.20x against the national median for its field. Computer Science graduates earn $83,339 from 27 degrees awarded, though its benchmark ratio of 0.78x sits below the national median for the field. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in business and a few technical fields, while the largest programs in the sciences and education post more modest earnings. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the higher-earning outcomes are in departments that award fewer degrees. Four-year earnings for fields that commonly precede graduate study may understate later trajectories. 33.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields **Biology, General 78 degrees awarded** $68,648 **Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 59 degrees awarded** $52,092 **Psychology, General 52 degrees awarded** $52,818 **Business Administration, Management and Operations 51 degrees awarded** $81,562 **Marketing 37 degrees awarded** Too few graduates to report **Communication and Media Studies 34 degrees awarded** $63,730 Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings. [Read the full majors brief](/school/augustana-college/majors/) 05 / Augustana College briefing ## How does Augustana College serve students from different backgrounds? Access is Augustana College’s strongest pillar; mobility shows uneven completion and modeled earnings figures. For the first-time full-time cohort, the [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 72.9%, and Pell recipients complete within six years at 65.9%, below the overall rate by 7.0 percentage points. Azimuth places mobility in the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $13,708 less than the model expects for similar students, placing [earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 10th percentile. Completion and modeled earnings point in different directions. Access is Augustana College's strongest Azimuth pillar, and it enrolls 2,490 undergraduates. The admission rate is 62.7%; Pell Grant recipients account for 24.0% of undergraduates, and an estimated 10.4% enter as transfers or part-time students. For this mix of entry measures, Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These measures show multiple routes into a college of this size. 06 / Augustana College briefing ## [What colleges are similar to Augustana College?](/school/augustana-college/similar/)[\[15\]](#hub-data-note-peers) Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. [How matching works](/school/augustana-college/similar/#peer-matching). ### A shortlist for different decisions Choose a row to compare the figures with Augustana College. Admissions peerCoe College64.0% admitted+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | Coe College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $57,133\-$3,244 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $18,745\-$3,991 vs Augustana College · lower cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 64.0% | Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Dubuque88.6% admitted+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | University of Dubuque | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $59,598\-$779 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $23,386+$650 vs Augustana College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 88.6% | Nearby alternativeNorthern Illinois UniversityNearby option · IL+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | Northern Illinois University | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $64,583+$4,206 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $13,391\-$9,345 vs Augustana College · lower cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 69.8% | [Explore Northern Illinois University →](/school/northern-illinois-university/) Higher-earnings alternativeMaine Maritime Academy$113,298 earnings+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | Maine Maritime Academy | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $113,298+$52,921 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $23,414+$678 vs Augustana College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 54.1% | [Explore Maine Maritime Academy →](/school/maine-maritime-academy/) Lower-cost alternativeNorthern Illinois University$13,391 average net price+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | Northern Illinois University | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $64,583+$4,206 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $13,391\-$9,345 vs Augustana College · lower cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 69.8% | [Explore Northern Illinois University →](/school/northern-illinois-university/) Similar profileNorth Central CollegeMatched across several measures+ Comparison with Augustana College | Measure | Augustana College | North Central College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $60,377 | $61,656+$1,279 vs Augustana College | | Average annual net price | $22,736 | $21,044\-$1,692 vs Augustana College · lower cost | | Admission rate | 62.7% | 77.3% | [Explore North Central College →](/school/north-central-college/) Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable. [Read the full similar schools brief](/school/augustana-college/similar/) ## Data scope & methodology Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026 · Governed hub narrative September 26, 2026 · Governed spoke corpus September 26, 2026 Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection. Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them. Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects. Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release. Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source. Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth. [Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations](/methodology/) · [About College Azimuth](/about/) Read the analysis behind [value-added earnings](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) and the [change to four-year graduate earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/). These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com. ## Data notes & source fields Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the [U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/files/InstitutionDataDocumentation.pdf); notes with a different source link it below. 1. **Admission rate.** Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability. Source fields: `ADM_RATE` 2. **Six-year completion.** First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree. Source fields: `C150_4` 3. **Four-year institutional earnings.** Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion. Source fields: `MD_EARN_WNE_4YR` 4. **Median federal student debt.** Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students. Source fields: `GRAD_DEBT_MDN` 5. **National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks.** Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ. Source fields: `Azimuth rankings` [College Azimuth · Ranking methodology](/methodology/) 6. **Annual net price by family income.** Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers. Source fields: `NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV` 7. **Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration.** Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations. Source fields: `PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations` [College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) 8. **Downside and upside earnings; yellow band.** The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median. Source fields: `Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios` [College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) 9. **Value added and its components.** Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality. Source fields: `Azimuth statistical model` [College Azimuth · Value-added methodology](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) 10. **SAT score range and reported midpoint.** Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range. Source fields: `SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG` 11. **First-year retention.** Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions. Source fields: `RET_FT4` 12. **Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots.** Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity. Source fields: `EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE` [College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/assets/FieldOfStudyDataDocumentation.pdf) 13. **Pell recipients.** Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year. Source fields: `PCTPELL` 14. **Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group.** This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns. Source fields: `1 − PFTFTUG1_EF` 15. **Peer earnings and signed differences.** Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure. Source fields: `Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR` [College Azimuth · Comparison methodology](/methodology/) [How to interpret program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)