College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Drexel University

PALarge private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #177 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Drexel University ranks #177 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Drexel University is a private nonprofit university in Philadelphia whose degree mix is led by Business, Health Professions, and Engineering. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain.

The price case turns on income: the lowest band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, so the access picture is mixed.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that earnings vary widely across them.

Drexel University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
79.4%
Six-year completion[2]
78.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$91,041

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$34,970
Median student debt[4]
$25,325
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$40,932

Drexel University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Drexel University is a private nonprofit university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, enrolling 13,233 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (88th percentile).

The shape is an institution whose strongest is return, while affordability sits far below the other three, and mobility and access hold the middle ground. The university admits 79.4% of applicants, a rate close to the 47.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 89.5% return for a second year and 78.2% finish within six years. Both figures run above the peer medians of 90.1% and 80.0%.

An estimated 23.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, and the six-year rate describes the first-time full-time cohort only. Return is the strongest pillar, while affordability is the weakest.

Mobility and access sit between them. The four pillars are spread wide, with the strongest and weakest separated by more than ninety percentile points.

The four Azimuth pillars sit far apart for Drexel University. Return is the strongest, at the 97th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 5th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mobility and access fall between the two. Mobility is at the 89th percentile and access at the 73rd percentile.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores at Drexel University fell between 1,240 and 1,440, while the ACT middle 50% ran from 27 to 32. 26.8% of the undergraduate body receives Pell Grants.

For access, Azimuth ranks the university #403 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 60.0%, 18.2 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (78.2%).

Azimuth ranks the university #161 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Drexel University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#177

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 89
Access & reach
National percentile: 73
Affordability
National percentile: 5
Return on investment
National percentile: 97

Top-ranked majors

  1. Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General#1
  2. Health/Medical Preparatory Programs#1
  3. Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management#6

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Drexel University briefing

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

The published cost of attendance at Drexel University is $76,835, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $62,412 and room and board is $18,096.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $38,509, meaning aid covers about 50% of the sticker price on average. That is $2,298 above the $36,211 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,343 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For families in the lowest income band, the average net price is $28,055, while the highest band averages $48,089—a spread of $20,034 between the two ends.

Drexel University publishes a cost of attendance of $76,835, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $62,412 and room and board are $18,096.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients pay—is $28,055 for families earning under $30,000, $34,970 for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), and $48,089 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $20,034.

Azimuth ranks Drexel #1,343 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $38,326 against the sticker price.

The average net price for first-time, full-time aid recipients is $38,509, which sits above the peer median of $36,211 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,298. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $25,325.

That median is above the peer median of $23,168 for comparable institutions by $2,157, and about 92.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower figure, is $40,932.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $288 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$34,970

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Drexel University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Drexel University: 92.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, the median federal student debt is $25,325.

That median sits $2,157 above the $23,168 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $40,932.

The return at Drexel University is strong, but the investment picture is not one-sided: high earnings sit alongside a cost structure that leaves the affordability pillar at the 5th percentile. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $91,041, placing that figure in the 94th percentile.

That is $7,426 above the $83,615 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 97th percentile.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $61,799 in a downside case to $105,933 in an upside case, with $91,041 as the typical outcome. On the borrowing side, completers who took federal loans carry a median of $25,325, which is $2,157 above the peer median of $23,168.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $288 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $40,932. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $288.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$25,325
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$40,932

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$288/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$520/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 / Drexel University briefing

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

Graduates of Drexel University earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 97th percentile that shows earnings well ahead of the model's expectation. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,939.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $10,428. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,748.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median earnings are $91,041, which sits in the 94th percentile nationally.

That figure is above the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $7,426. The return picture is mixed: earnings beyond expectations are strong, but the median itself trails the peer benchmark.

Graduates of Drexel University earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the university in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median earnings of its graduates reach $91,041, which sits above the median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The earnings cohort includes 5,003 completers. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome at the observed median, with a downside scenario of $61,799 and an upside scenario reaching $105,933.

An estimated 25.7% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median earnings land in the 94th percentile nationally.

Strong earnings across the program mix and a large gap above the model's expectation point the same way.

Four years after completing a bachelor's degree at Drexel University, graduates earn a median of $91,041, a figure that places the university in the 94th percentile nationally. That median sits above the peer median of $83,615 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $7,426.

The return picture is strong because graduates earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 97th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,939.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $10,428. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,748.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $61,799 and an upside of $105,933. Azimuth ranks Drexel University #48 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university's largest program, Nursing, awarded 581 degrees and shows median earnings of $100,646 four years after completion, ranking #52 nationally in its field. Accounting, with 299 degrees awarded, earns a median of $100,317 and ranks #23 nationally.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $117,537 and the program ranks #40 nationally. One program stands out on return: Liberal Arts and General Studies ranks #8 nationally, with median earnings of $84,166 that are 1.59x the national median for the field.

The spread between the downside and upside earnings scenarios at Drexel University is wide, running from $61,799 to $105,933 four years after completion, with the typical scenario at $91,041. That range shows the variation in earnings across the university's 43 programs with published data.

The highest-earning programs show the upper end of that variation. Computer Engineering completers earn a median of $117,537, Computer Science graduates reach $113,610, and Construction Management completers earn $105,887.

Graduates of Drexel University earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $25,325, which runs above the median of $23,168 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt would mean a monthly payment of $288. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $38,509, which is above the median for comparable institutions of $36,211.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $40,932. The return picture is strong: earnings run well ahead of the model's expectation, and the median debt sits only slightly above the median for comparable institutions.

The average net price is above that same peer benchmark, and the estimated monthly payment on the median debt is modest relative to the typical earnings scenario.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,939
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$10,428
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$22,367

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 / Drexel University briefing

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

Drexel University admits 79.4% of applicants, a rate that sits near the median of 47.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 38,030 applicants and 26,583 admitted students.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
79.4%
Approximate lower endpoint
1240
Reported average
1345
Approximate upper endpoint
1440

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 / Drexel University briefing

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

Drexel University's largest programs span a wide earnings range, from six-figure medians in technical fields to more moderate returns in creative ones. Nursing, the biggest program with 581 degrees awarded, shows a median of $100,646 four years after completion and an Azimuth national rank of #52.

Accounting and Management Science follow at $100,317 and $104,599, with 299 and 206 degrees awarded respectively. The highest-earning program overall is Computer Engineering at $117,537, though it is smaller at 80 degrees awarded.

Design and Applied Arts sits at the other end of the range among the largest programs, with median earnings of $66,294. Even so, its Azimuth national rank of #12 shows it clears the national median for its field by a comfortable margin.

Drexel University publishes earnings data for 43 bachelor's programs, and 35 hold an Azimuth national rank. The strongest return belongs to Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, which holds the top national rank at #1 and the top state rank in Pennsylvania, awarded 111 degrees, and shows a median of $95,081 four years after completion.

Among the largest programs, Nursing awarded 581 degrees and ranks #52 nationally, with a median of $100,646. Accounting ranks #23 nationally and #4 in Pennsylvania and awarded 299 degrees.

Its completers earn a median of $100,317. The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, ranked #40 nationally, with a median of $117,537 and 80 degrees awarded.

Drexel University's degree mix is concentrated in professional fields. Business accounts for 25.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Health Professions at 20.5% and Engineering at 17.2%.

Across all fields, 32.7% of degrees are in STEM. The university has 35 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 43 with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Nursing, at 581 degrees awarded, followed by Accounting at 299 and Management Science at 206. The highest-ranked program is Health/Medical Preparatory Programs, which awards 111 degrees a year and ranks #1 in Pennsylvania within its field.

Graduates earn a median of $95,081 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.54x against the national median for its field. Engineering Technologies/Technicians ranks #1 nationally and #1 in Pennsylvania within its field, with 29 degrees awarded.

Its graduates earn a median of $97,379 four years after completion. The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn $117,537 four years after completion.

It awards 80 degrees a year and ranks #40 nationally and #2 in Pennsylvania within its field. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in professional and technical fields, with the largest programs also carrying strong earnings and solid national standings.

Graduates of Nursing, the largest program, earn a median of $100,646 four years after completion, and the program ranks #52 nationally and #2 in Pennsylvania within its field. Accounting, the second-largest, ranks #23 nationally and #4 in Pennsylvania within its field, with median earnings of $100,317.

Mechanical Engineering awards 184 degrees and ranks #116 nationally and #7 in Pennsylvania within its field. The top-ranked and highest-earning programs sit alongside these large-award programs, and the spread of earnings across the largest fields runs from $66,294 in Design and Applied Arts to $104,599 in Management Science.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 581 degrees awarded
$100,646
Accounting and Related Services 299 degrees awarded
$100,317
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 206 degrees awarded
$104,599
Mechanical Engineering 184 degrees awarded
$93,638
Design and Applied Arts 169 degrees awarded
$66,294
Computer Science 168 degrees awarded
$113,610

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 / Drexel University briefing

How does Drexel University serve students from different backgrounds?

Drexel University delivers strong mobility outcomes, with a six-year graduation rate of 78.2% for the first-time full-time cohort that clears the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions—of 80.0%. Azimuth places the university in the 89th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 60.0%, below the overall rate by 18.2 percentage points. Graduates earn about $22,367 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 97th percentile nationally.

A graduation rate above the peer median and earnings that beat the model point the same way for students who reach the finish line.

Drexel University enrolls 13,233 undergraduates and admits 79.4% of applicants, a figure close to the peer median of 47.1% — the midpoint among comparable institutions. Pell Grant recipients make up 26.8% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 23.8% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 73rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Drexel University briefing

What colleges are similar to Drexel 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 Drexel University.

Admissions peerSeton Hall University73.3% admitted
Comparison with Drexel University
MeasureDrexel UniversitySeton Hall University
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,041$76,919-$14,122 vs Drexel University
Average annual net price$38,509$31,446-$7,063 vs Drexel University · lower cost
Admission rate79.4%73.3%
Higher-admission alternativeGwynedd Mercy University89.6% admitted
Comparison with Drexel University
MeasureDrexel UniversityGwynedd Mercy University
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,041$89,170-$1,871 vs Drexel University
Average annual net price$38,509$27,483-$11,026 vs Drexel University · lower cost
Admission rate79.4%89.6%
Nearby alternativeSaint Joseph's University - PhiladelphiaNearby option · PA
Comparison with Drexel University
MeasureDrexel UniversitySaint Joseph's University - Philadelphia
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,041$84,010-$7,031 vs Drexel University
Average annual net price$38,509$29,689-$8,820 vs Drexel University · lower cost
Admission rate79.4%88.8%
Explore Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Drexel University
MeasureDrexel UniversityCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,041$82,748-$8,293 vs Drexel University
Average annual net price$38,509$3,033-$35,476 vs Drexel University · lower cost
Admission rate79.4%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileRochester Institute of TechnologyMatched across several measures
Comparison with Drexel University
MeasureDrexel UniversityRochester Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,041$84,133-$6,908 vs Drexel University
Average annual net price$38,509$34,906-$3,603 vs Drexel University · lower cost
Admission rate79.4%66.9%
Explore Rochester Institute of Technology →

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 uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. 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