College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

La Roche University

PASmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1414 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth puts its overall standing in the 4th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

La Roche University is a private nonprofit university in Pittsburgh whose degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Affordability is its strongest , though it sits modestly below average, and access is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes that gap to the factors it measures, which subtract from expected earnings, and to a remainder it cannot explain, which also subtracts.

Return is below the levels seen at many peers. Pell recipients complete at a rate above the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is modestly below average.

What the lowest income band pays after aid is well below the published cost, and the spread between the lowest and highest bands is present. The admission rate is near the median for comparable institutions, and an estimated quarter of graduates continue to graduate study, so most go into work.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning field, Nursing, awards far fewer degrees.

La Roche University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
75.8%
Six-year completion[2]
57.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,880

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,960
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$27,867

La Roche University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

La Roche University is a private nonprofit university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, enrolling 751 undergraduates. The university sits near the bottom of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (4th percentile).

An estimated 35.3% of students at La Roche University arrive as transfers or part-time students as first-year students. The university admits 75.8% of applicants, against a peer median of 75.7% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of those who enroll full time, 68.8% return for a second year, compared with a peer median of 74.2%. The six-year graduation rate is 57.2%, against a peer median of 54.9%.

Affordability is the strongest pillar (at the 43rd percentile) and access is the weakest (at the 2nd percentile), with mobility and return falling between them. The four sit far apart from one another, so the university's profile is uneven across the dimensions Azimuth measures.

Affordability is the clearest part of La Roche University’s Azimuth profile, though its overall pillar picture remains uneven. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places affordability in the 43rd percentile, its strongest pillar, and mobility in the 31st percentile.

Return is in the 17th percentile, while access, the weakest pillar, is in the 2nd percentile. The relatively stronger affordability and mobility readings sit alongside lower return and access positions.

At La Roche University, the middle 50% of enrolled students who submitted SAT scores fell between 940 and 1,200, while ACT submitters ranged from 15 to 22. 10.1% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,445 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year completion rate for Pell recipients is 61.3%, which is 4.1 percentage points above the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (57.2%).

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #1,011. Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

La Roche University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,414

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 31
Access & reach
National percentile: 2
Affordability
National percentile: 43
Return on investment
National percentile: 17

01 / La Roche University briefing

La Roche University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, La Roche University has an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $20,794, well below its published cost of attendance of $47,111. Published tuition and fees are $34,052, and room and board are $13,390.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $26,317. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $22,347, with the university below that level by $1,553.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The aid offset and lower comparable cost point toward a more moderate average price than the published total alone suggests.

The published cost of attendance at La Roche University is $47,111 (an average across living arrangements), with aid recipients’ prices varying across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,152 for the lowest family-income band, $15,200 for the lower-middle band, $17,960 for the middle band, $25,120 for the upper-middle band, and $27,145 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,993, a difference between band averages rather than a bill for any one family. Azimuth ranks La Roche University #811 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 56% of the published cost and offsets $26,317 from the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, the is $20,794, while published tuition and fees are $34,052.

The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347; the university sits below that figure by $1,553. Aid offsets and the peer comparison both point toward a lower average price than at comparable institutions.

Federal borrowing is widespread: 94.9% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt at completion of $25,000. The peer median debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, leaving the university level with peers.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $27,867. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,960

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at La Roche University

Borrowing is widespread at La Roche University, where 94.9% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $25,000.

That range shows that borrowing among completing federal-loan borrowers varies substantially. The peer median federal debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000.

La Roche University’s median is level with that benchmark. The school’s borrowing picture therefore matches its peer benchmark at the median, even though federal borrowing reaches a large share of undergraduates.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $27,867.

Affordability is the strongest Azimuth pillar for La Roche University, but its return figures give a mixed picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $57,880 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, with La Roche’s earnings $1,965 above that figure. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios place earnings at $45,807 in a downside case, $57,880 in a typical case, and $72,480 in an upside case.

Median federal student loan debt is $25,000, level with the peer median of $25,000; that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings sit above peers, but they fall below the model’s expectation.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate parent-borrower population, have median borrowing of $27,867. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 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
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$27,867

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$354/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 / La Roche University briefing

La Roche University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

For a university whose affordability is its strongest pillar, the return figures are less favorable: Azimuth places La Roche University’s return pillar in the 17th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 28th 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) subtracts $2,458. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,728.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,880 four years after completion, in the 43rd percentile. That is $1,965 above the peer median of $55,915 for comparable institutions, the middle value for the same type and size.

The graduate earnings figure offers a schoolwide starting point rather than a forecast for every field. At La Roche University, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $57,880 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that measure in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 400 completers. A typical earnings scenario based on the program mix is $57,880.

It is a scenario rather than an observed group, so field-level outcomes can differ from this schoolwide figure. An estimated 25.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment after completing an undergraduate degree.

Federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled at La Roche University earn a median of $57,880 four years after completion, in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That median sits $1,965 above the peer median of $55,915 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks La Roche University #1,222 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the earnings gap at the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median sits above the peer median, yet graduates fall short of what the model predicts.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $2,458. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,728.

Inside the measured factors, the STEM component adds $886. The program mix centers heavily on business and health fields, with smaller technology programs and other fields.

Earnings scenarios estimated from that mix range from $45,807 on the downside to $72,480 on the upside. An estimated 25.9% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Program selection makes the modeled earnings range at La Roche University broad. Program-mix scenarios run from $45,807 on the downside to $72,480 on the upside; they are earnings scenarios, not observed groups.

Among the higher program medians four years after completion, Nursing reports $92,902, Computer and Information Sciences reports $68,717, and Computer Science reports $68,248. Those field-level figures show why one schoolwide earnings figure cannot stand in for every option.

La Roche University’s average net price sits below the comparable-institution median, giving its affordability picture a relative cost advantage. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,794.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions, is $22,347, leaving La Roche below it by $1,553. Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000, level with the peer median of $25,000. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point in a different direction. Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students.

The lower average price and peer-level debt help on cost, but the modeled earnings gap leaves a mixed return picture.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$2,458
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,728
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$7,186

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 / La Roche University briefing

La Roche University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At La Roche University, the 75.8% admission rate summarizes offers made to the reported entering-class applicant pool, rather than a prediction for an individual applicant. It is close to the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
75.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
940
Reported average
1055
Approximate upper endpoint
1200

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 / La Roche University briefing

What are the largest majors at La Roche University?[12]

At La Roche University, earnings four years after completion differ markedly by field, making program choice central to the return picture. The higher-earning options in the published data are Nursing, at $92,902 with 12 degrees awarded, and Computer and Information Sciences, at $68,717 with 13 degrees awarded.

Computer Science also posts $68,248 across 7 degrees awarded. More moderate earnings appear in Management Science, which recorded $53,064 with 48 degrees awarded.

The difference between these fields means the institution-wide earnings figure can conceal distinct outcomes across programs.

Business accounts for 34.8% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, so field-level earnings are especially relevant when weighing La Roche University. Among the largest fields, Management Science awarded 48 degrees and had median earnings of $53,064 four years after completion.

The degree mix at La Roche University is anchored by Business, which accounts for 34.8% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Health Professions follows at 16.7%, and Psychology is third at 7.8%.

The university has 9 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Management Science, at 48 degrees awarded a year.

Its graduates earn a median of $53,064 four years after completion, which is 0.62x the national median for the field. Psychology is the second-largest, with 23 degrees awarded and median earnings of $44,709.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one. Nursing graduates earn $92,902 four years out, from 12 degrees awarded a year.

That figure sits at 1.04x the national median for its field. Computer and Information Sciences is next, with median earnings of $68,717 from 13 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of concentration: the largest program is also the fifth-highest-earning, and the business family dominates the degree mix. 15.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 48 degrees awarded
$53,064
Psychology, General 23 degrees awarded
$44,709
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions 20 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 17 degrees awarded
$51,817
Marketing 17 degrees awarded
$51,540
Accounting and Related Services 16 degrees awarded
$59,181

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 / La Roche University briefing

How does La Roche University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion is stronger for Pell recipients than for the overall first-time full-time cohort, but modeled earnings fall short of expectations. The six-year graduation rate is 57.2%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 61.3%, above the overall rate by 4.1 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 28th percentile: Graduates earn about $7,186 less than the model expects for similar students.

La Roche University enrolls 751 undergraduates and admits 75.8% of applicants, setting its entry profile. Pell Grant recipients, a financial-access measure, make up 10.1% of undergraduates; an estimated 35.3% are transfers.

Azimuth assigns the university’s access pillar to the 2nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The low Pell share and sizable estimated transfer presence describe two distinct routes into the university.

06 / La Roche University briefing

What colleges are similar to La Roche 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 La Roche University.

Admissions peerThiel College71.6% admitted
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversityThiel College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$51,262-$6,618 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$22,347+$1,553 vs La Roche University · higher cost
Admission rate75.8%71.6%
Higher-admission alternativeIndiana University of Pennsylvania90.8% admitted
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversityIndiana University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$57,450-$430 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$16,804-$3,990 vs La Roche University · lower cost
Admission rate75.8%90.8%
Explore Indiana University of Pennsylvania →
Nearby alternativeSaint Vincent CollegeNearby option · PA
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversitySaint Vincent College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$56,796-$1,084 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$23,510+$2,716 vs La Roche University · higher cost
Admission rate75.8%61.7%
Higher-earnings alternativeSUNY Maritime College$104,752 earnings
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversitySUNY Maritime College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$104,752+$46,872 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$22,367+$1,573 vs La Roche University · higher cost
Admission rate75.8%72.4%
Explore SUNY Maritime College →
Lower-cost alternativeYoungstown State University$12,767 average net price
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversityYoungstown State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$56,047-$1,833 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$12,767-$8,027 vs La Roche University · lower cost
Admission rate75.8%84.5%
Explore Youngstown State University →
Similar profileColby-Sawyer CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with La Roche University
MeasureLa Roche UniversityColby-Sawyer College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,880$57,874-$6 vs La Roche University
Average annual net price$20,794$27,431+$6,637 vs La Roche University · higher cost
Admission rate75.8%80.1%

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