College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Cedarville University

OHMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1143 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Cedarville University #1,143 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Cedarville University is a private nonprofit university in Cedarville, Ohio, whose degree mix is led by Health Professions, Business, and Engineering. Affordability is its strongest Azimuth , though it sits modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts from earnings, than to the factors it measures, which add to them.

Return is modestly below average, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted results point the same way. Affordability is modestly below average, and the net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and access is modestly below average. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools.

The degree mix is oriented toward professional fields: the largest program, Nursing, is not the best-paid one. A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the largest departments are not the highest-earning.

Cedarville University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.3%
Six-year completion[2]
72.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$60,679

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,743
Median student debt[4]
$20,937
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$37,422

Cedarville University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Cedarville University enrolls 4,024 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university in Cedarville, Ohio. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits in the lower quarter of the Azimuth ranking (22nd percentile).

Cedarville University accepts 65.3% of those who apply, measured against a peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. 89.6% of the first-time, full-time cohort returns after the first year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate stands at 72.5%, compared with 68.8% for comparable institutions. An estimated 7.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate covers only the first-time, full-time group.

The four pillars sit close together, all below the median among nonprofit four-year institutions. Affordability is the strongest, at the 35th percentile, while return is the weakest, at the 30th percentile.

Access and mobility fall between them, at the 31st and 35th percentiles, giving Cedarville University a flat profile with no pillar standing far above the others.

At Cedarville University, affordability is the strongest of the four Azimuth pillars, but return is the weakest. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, affordability stands in the 35th percentile and mobility in the 35th percentile.

Access is in the 31st percentile, while return is in the 30th percentile. Affordability and mobility sit closest together, whereas return trails the other measures.

At Cedarville University, a private nonprofit university in Cedarville, Ohio, the middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,130 and 1,360, and ACT scores between 22 and 29. 15.2% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,009 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 63.2%, which sits 9.3 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #961. Graduates earn about $12,859 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Cedarville University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,143

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 35
Access & reach
National percentile: 31
Affordability
National percentile: 35
Return on investment
National percentile: 30

01 / Cedarville University briefing

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

For aid recipients, Cedarville University has an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $24,468 against a published annual cost of attendance of $49,320. That average is not a bill quoted to any one family.

The published total includes $37,150 for tuition and fees and $9,574 for room and board. Average aid savings of $24,852 reduce the sticker total for aid recipients.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371. Cedarville’s is $2,903 below that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #919 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower peer comparison and the aid reduction point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Cedarville University is $49,320. Azimuth ranks the university #919 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 $18,987, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $19,743, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $28,127. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,140.

Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the average net price across all bands to $24,468. That is $2,903 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $20,937 in federal student loans, $3,262 below the $24,199 peer median. 91.4% of federal aid recipients take out federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $37,422. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,743

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Cedarville University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Cedarville University, so the range of balances gives useful context alongside the midpoint. Among completers who borrowed federal loans, median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,937.

91.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199, with Cedarville's median below it by $3,262.

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $37,422.

At Cedarville University, the financial picture is mixed: debt is lower than at comparable institutions, but graduate earnings fall short of the model's expectation. Graduates working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $60,679 four years after completion, placing the figure in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $12,859 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, is in the 13th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios from the program mix put downside earnings at $43,277, typical earnings at $60,679, and upside earnings at $88,083. Median federal debt is $20,937, below the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,262.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years.

For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, had median borrowing of $37,422.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,937
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$37,422

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$238/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$475/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 / Cedarville University briefing

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

Affordability is Cedarville University’s strongest pillar, but its return figures are weaker. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 30th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $12,859 less than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations in the 13th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,096.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,955. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $60,679, in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; Cedarville University is $7,571 below it. Below-expected earnings and a below-peer median point in the same direction.

At Cedarville University, the earnings picture is middle-range on the school-level measure, with a less favorable model comparison. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled report median earnings of $60,679 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings level in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 691 completers. The program-mix model sets a typical earnings scenario at $60,679, with downside and upside scenarios of $43,277 and $88,083.

Earnings beyond expectations is also less favorable: Graduates earn about $12,859 less than the model expects for similar students. An estimated 27.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The scenarios show room for different outcomes, but the model comparison remains a caution in the earnings picture.

At Cedarville University, median earnings are $60,679 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, placing the school in the 53rd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with Cedarville's figure $7,571 below it.

Graduates earn about $12,859 less than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations in the 13th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,096.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $15,955. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,539.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $43,277 in the downside scenario to $88,083 in the upside scenario. Azimuth ranks the university #1,032 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Computer Science has the highest reported program earnings: 24 degrees awarded and median earnings of $109,817 four years after completion, or 1.03x of the national median for its field. Finance awarded 20 degrees and shows $86,487 in earnings, at 1.04x of its field median.

Nursing, the largest program, awarded 119 degrees and has $73,789 median earnings, equal to 0.83x of the national field median. Program earnings range widely across these large and high-earning fields.

Program mix leaves room for markedly different modeled earnings paths. The downside scenario is $43,277, while the upside scenario reaches $88,083; both are earnings scenarios rather than observed graduate groups.

The higher end is illustrated by program medians four years after completion: Computer Science at $109,817, Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration at $87,777, and Finance at $86,487. Those field-level figures show why the modeled range is wide.

The published cost of attendance at Cedarville University is $49,320. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $24,468, which is below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,903.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $20,937 in federal student loans. That is below the peer median by $3,262, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $37,422 in Parent PLUS loans. The net price and debt figures sit below the peer midpoint.

Graduates earn about $12,859 less than the model expects for similar students, and the median earnings are below the peer median.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,096
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$15,955
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$12,859

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 / Cedarville University briefing

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

Cedarville University admitted 65.3% of applicants to its reported entering class, a rate that describes the share of that applicant pool receiving admission. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the reference point is the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is higher.

Applicants should place this rate alongside their own academic record and score information when deciding where to apply. It summarizes that year’s pool rather than forecasting an individual admission decision.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
65.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1130
Reported average
1241
Approximate upper endpoint
1360

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 / Cedarville University briefing

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

At Cedarville University, program earnings differ sharply across fields, so the field chosen matters to the return picture. Computer Science has the highest median earnings, at $109,817 four years after completion, with 24 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering pairs 53 degrees awarded with median earnings of $86,062 at the same point. The larger Nursing program awarded 119 degrees and reports $73,789 in median earnings four years after completion.

At a more moderate level, Teacher Education awarded 42 degrees and shows $43,308. The contrast between these fields shows that program-level earnings vary well beyond the schoolwide picture.

Published program data show a wide earnings range at Cedarville University, with 14 bachelor’s fields carrying earnings data four years after completion. Nursing, the largest listed field, awarded 119 degrees and had median earnings of $73,789.

Cedarville University's bachelor's degrees are anchored in the health professions, with Health Professions accounting for 22.2% of degrees awarded. Business and Engineering follow at 12.0% and 10.9%, respectively.

The university has 14 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, at 119 degrees awarded, followed by Mechanical Engineering with 53 and Design and Applied Arts with 45.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn a median of $109,817 four years after completion, from 24 degrees awarded. Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration is next at $87,777, with 25 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering, the second-largest program, also appears among the top earners at $86,062. Finance and Accounting round out the highest-earning fields, with medians of $86,487 and $77,937, respectively.

The pattern is one of concentrated strength in a few technical and professional fields, with a wide earnings spread between the top and the rest. Nursing, the largest program with published earnings, earns $73,789, while Teacher Education and Communication and Media Studies sit at $43,308 and $34,958. Across all fields, 19.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 119 degrees awarded
$73,789
Mechanical Engineering 53 degrees awarded
$86,062
Design and Applied Arts 45 degrees awarded
$51,813
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 42 degrees awarded
$43,308
Psychology, General 33 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Communication and Media Studies 27 degrees awarded
$34,958

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 / Cedarville University briefing

How does Cedarville University serve students from different backgrounds?

Cedarville University has a higher overall completion rate than its Pell recipient completion rate, alongside modeled earnings below expectations. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 72.5%, and Pell recipients complete at 63.2%, below the overall rate by 9.3 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $12,859 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, is in the 13th percentile. Completion and modeled earnings point in different directions.

Admission is open to a broad share of applicants at Cedarville University, where the admission rate is 65.3% and undergraduate enrollment is 4,024. Pell Grants go to 15.2% of undergraduates, and an estimated 7.8% of the undergraduate body entered as transfers or part-time students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns the access pillar to the 31st percentile. The admission pattern, enrollment scale, and aid reach together describe access that sits in the lower part of that national comparison.

06 / Cedarville University briefing

What colleges are similar to Cedarville 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 Cedarville University.

Admissions peerMount St. Joseph University59.1% admitted
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityMount St. Joseph University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$61,602+$923 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$16,530-$7,938 vs Cedarville University · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%59.1%
Higher-admission alternativeOtterbein University84.5% admitted
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityOtterbein University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$58,068-$2,611 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$19,237-$5,231 vs Cedarville University · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%84.5%
Explore Otterbein University →
Nearby alternativeOtterbein UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityOtterbein University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$58,068-$2,611 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$19,237-$5,231 vs Cedarville University · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%84.5%
Explore Otterbein University →
Higher-earnings alternativeOhio Northern University$72,080 earnings
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityOhio Northern University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$72,080+$11,401 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$24,478+$10 vs Cedarville University · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%74.4%
Explore Ohio Northern University →
Lower-cost alternativeMount St. Joseph University$16,530 average net price
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityMount St. Joseph University
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$61,602+$923 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$16,530-$7,938 vs Cedarville University · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%59.1%
Similar profileHope CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Cedarville University
MeasureCedarville UniversityHope College
Peer earnings · 4 years$60,679$60,573-$106 vs Cedarville University
Average annual net price$24,468$27,182+$2,714 vs Cedarville University · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%79.2%
Explore Hope 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

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