College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Carroll University

WIMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #748 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Carroll University 49th overall among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Carroll University is a private nonprofit university in Waukesha, Wisconsin, with a degree mix led by Health Professions and Parks, Recreation & Fitness. Return is above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes a subtraction to a remainder it does not explain, while the factors it measures add to expected earnings.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year figure captures most outcomes. Aid covers a large share of the published cost for the average aid recipient, and the net price for the lowest income band sits well below the sticker.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and mobility is below the levels seen at many peers. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and the largest programs are in health and fitness fields.

A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs, like Accounting, are much smaller.

Carroll University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
66.8%
Six-year completion[2]
70.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$66,639

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,134
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$32,186

Carroll University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Carroll University enrolls 2,523 undergraduates at its campus in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where it operates as a private nonprofit university. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits close to the midpoint (49th percentile).

It admits 66.8% of applicants, compared with a median of 71.2% among comparable institutions of the same type and size. 78.2% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, a figure that sits below the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 70.7%, above the peer median of 68.8%. Because an estimated 11.7% of students enter as transfers or part-time students, the six-year rate covers only the first-time, full-time cohort.

Return is the strongest for Carroll University and mobility is the weakest, with affordability and access falling between them. The four sit far apart, so the university's strengths and weaknesses are spread across the ranking rather than clustered together.

Carroll University has an uneven four-pillar profile: return is its strongest area, and mobility is its weakest. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, return is in the 70th percentile and affordability is in the 55th percentile.

Azimuth places access in the 39th percentile and mobility in the 18th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The higher return and affordability readings sit alongside lower access and mobility readings.

At Carroll University, 22.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the share receiving this federal aid. Among enrolled students who submitted SATs, the middle 50% of scores ran from 1,040 to 1,270.

For the ACT, the middle 50% stretched from 21 to 27. Azimuth ranks Carroll University #896 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 57.3%, 13.4 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (70.7%) for the entering cohort. That gap is the distance between Pell completion and the overall rate.

Azimuth ranks Carroll University #1,202 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits alongside the mobility ranking.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Carroll University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#748

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 18
Access & reach
National percentile: 39
Affordability
National percentile: 55
Return on investment
National percentile: 70

01 / Carroll University briefing

Carroll University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Carroll University has an average net price well below both its published charge and the comparable-school benchmark. The published cost of attendance is $52,639, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus tuition and fees are $38,890, and room and board is $14,280. , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,193.

Average aid savings against the published cost total $37,446, leaving a markedly different cost picture from the sticker charge. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371.

Carroll’s average net price sits $12,178 below that benchmark. Azimuth places Carroll University in the 55th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The lower net price and the affordability standing point in the same direction for aid recipients.

The published cost of attendance at Carroll University is $52,639 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #638 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $15,718, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $14,134, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $14,891. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $827.

Aid covers about 71% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the average net price across all bands to $15,193. That is $12,178 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $32,186.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,134

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Carroll University

For Carroll University completers who borrowed federally, the middle debt balance at completion is $27,000, and 93.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199, with the university’s figure $2,801 above that benchmark.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $32,186.

Return is the strongest pillar for Carroll University, though its investment picture includes a modeled earnings shortfall. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $66,639 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides a second lens.

Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth puts this measure in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The downside scenario is $48,811, the typical scenario matches the reported median earnings, and the upside scenario is $78,931. Median federal student loan debt is $27,000, or $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. Strong reported earnings sit alongside debt above peers and earnings below the model's expectation.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $32,186, separate from the federal student debt held by completing borrowers. For borrowers with the median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$32,186

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$409/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
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Carroll University briefing

Carroll University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completion, federally aided completers working and not enrolled have median earnings of $66,639, in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250.

Carroll University is $1,611 below that peer median. Azimuth assigns its return pillar to the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth puts earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 45th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,217. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,770.

Earnings sit above comparable peers, though they fall short of the model’s expectation.

Carroll University presents a mixed graduate earnings picture: a strong broad percentile sits alongside lower-than-expected earnings. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $66,639 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that measure in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 958 completers. A typical earnings scenario based on the program mix is $66,639, rather than an observed graduate group.

An estimated 29.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The percentile describes the school-level result, while the scenario and graduate-study estimate describe different post-completion paths.

Carroll University posts a median of $66,639 four years after completion, which is $1,611 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #435 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 45th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $6,217. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,770.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $850. The program mix tilts toward health and fitness fields, with a small STEM share of 15.2% of degrees awarded.

Earnings scenarios estimated from that mix range from $48,811 on the downside to $78,931 on the upside. An estimated 29.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary across Carroll University’s modeled program-mix scenarios, from $48,811 on the downside to $78,931 on the upside four years after completion. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

Program medians also span a wide range four years after completion: Accounting reports $87,085, Finance reports $79,884, and Computer Science reports $79,438. Those program results give the modeled range practical context.

Costs after aid are comparatively low, though typical borrower debt sits higher than the peer median. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,193.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $27,371, and Carroll University is below it by $12,178. Aid covers about 71% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

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 debt figure is above it by $2,801.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students: Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students. Low net prices and higher borrowing point in different directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$6,217
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,770
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$2,553

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Carroll University briefing

Carroll University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

With an admission rate of 66.8%, Carroll University admitted about two-thirds of applicants in the reported entering-class cycle. The reported figure is lower than the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Applicants should build an application list with schools spanning a range of published admission rates and academic profiles. This rate summarizes a past applicant pool rather than forecasting an individual admission decision.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
66.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1040
Reported average
1190
Approximate upper endpoint
1270

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Carroll University briefing

What are the largest majors at Carroll University?[12]

At Carroll University, the higher-earning fields in this set sit noticeably above the more moderate-earning options four years after completion. Accounting records median earnings of $87,085 across 6 degrees awarded, and Finance records $79,884 across 8 degrees awarded.

Nursing combines $78,698 in median earnings with 100 degrees awarded, placing it nearer the higher-earning end of these programs. By contrast, Psychology reports $55,446 and 44 degrees awarded.

The figures show that earnings vary substantially by field, even among programs with notable numbers of degrees awarded.

Health Professions accounts for 25.4% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and 17 fields have published earnings data. Among the largest fields, Kinesiology and Physical Education awarded 111 degrees and had median earnings of $77,095 four years after completion. The largest fields span a wide range of earnings outcomes.

Health Professions is the largest program family at Carroll University, accounting for 25.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Parks, Recreation & Fitness next at 18.2% and Biological Sciences at 11.0%. The university has 17 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Kinesiology and Physical Education, at 111 degrees awarded, followed by Nursing at 100 and Psychology at 44. The highest-earning program is a small one: Accounting graduates earn a median of $87,085 four years after completion, from 6 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $79,884 with 8 degrees awarded, and Computer Science at $79,438 with 16. The two largest programs, Kinesiology and Physical Education and Nursing, also appear among the top earners, at $77,095 and $78,698 respectively, so the programs that award the most degrees sit alongside the best-paid ones.

The pattern is concentrated: the largest programs are also among the top earners, while the very highest-earning fields are small. 15.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

For fields where graduates commonly continue to graduate study, the four-year earnings figures may understate later trajectories. The two largest programs together account for 111 and 100 degrees awarded, a combined total that outweighs the rest of the top five.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 111 degrees awarded
$77,095
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 100 degrees awarded
$78,698
Psychology, General 44 degrees awarded
$55,446
Biology, General 38 degrees awarded
$67,070
Business Administration, Management and Operations 38 degrees awarded
$64,807
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 37 degrees awarded
$50,285

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

05 / Carroll University briefing

How does Carroll University serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduates earn about $2,553 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 70.7%, compared with 57.3% for Pell recipients, below the overall rate by 13.4 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 18th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Lower Pell completion and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Carroll University enrolls 2,523 undergraduates and admits 66.8% of applicants, setting the scale and entry rate for its undergraduate population. Pell Grant recipients account for 22.9% of undergraduates, and an estimated 11.7% enter after starting elsewhere.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The enrollment, Pell participation, and estimated transfer share describe access across both first-time and transfer entry paths.

06 / Carroll University briefing

What colleges are similar to Carroll University?[15]

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.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Carroll University.

Admissions peerMaranatha Baptist University71.9% admitted
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversityMaranatha Baptist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$49,529-$17,110 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$26,005+$10,812 vs Carroll University · higher cost
Admission rate66.8%71.9%
Higher-admission alternativeAlverno College85.7% admitted
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversityAlverno College
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$67,760+$1,121 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$22,540+$7,347 vs Carroll University · higher cost
Admission rate66.8%85.7%
Nearby alternativeAlverno CollegeNearby option · WI
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversityAlverno College
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$67,760+$1,121 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$22,540+$7,347 vs Carroll University · higher cost
Admission rate66.8%85.7%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Detroit Mercy$78,953 earnings
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversityUniversity of Detroit Mercy
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$78,953+$12,314 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$15,232+$39 vs Carroll University · higher cost
Admission rate66.8%75.4%
Lower-cost alternativeSaint Xavier University$10,970 average net price
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversitySaint Xavier University
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$66,961+$322 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$10,970-$4,223 vs Carroll University · lower cost
Admission rate66.8%84.3%
Explore Saint Xavier University →
Similar profileSt Catherine UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Carroll University
MeasureCarroll UniversitySt Catherine University
Peer earnings · 4 years$66,639$65,829-$810 vs Carroll University
Average annual net price$15,193$19,764+$4,571 vs Carroll University · higher cost
Admission rate66.8%91.9%

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

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

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, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. 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; 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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

How to interpret program rankings