College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Pennsylvania Western University

PAMedium public institution · Overall rank #590 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Pennsylvania Western University #590 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Pennsylvania Western University is a public university in California, Pennsylvania, whose degree mix is led by Health Professions, Business, and Liberal Arts & General Studies. Mobility is well above average, the strongest of the four .

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to a remainder it does not explain, which subtracts, while the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—adds to expected earnings.

Return is below the levels seen at many peers, the weakest pillar. The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it, and affordability is above average.

Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and access is above average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs—Nursing and Liberal Arts and General Studies—sit at opposite ends of the earnings scale.

A student drawn to the health professions should go in knowing that the largest department is not the best-paid one, and the second-largest earns considerably less.

Pennsylvania Western University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
94.3%
Six-year completion[2]
51.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$54,553

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,517
Median student debt[4]
$23,725
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$17,794

Pennsylvania Western University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Pennsylvania Western University is a public university in California, Pennsylvania, enrolling 7,451 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking of nonprofit four-year institutions sits in the middle of the field.

The university admits 94.3% of applicants, a rate that is higher than the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among those who start full time, 71.7% return for a second year, while the six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 51.9%.

These figures sit near the peer medians of 73.7% for retention and 49.1% for completion. An estimated 28.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, meaning a significant portion of the student body did not start at Pennsylvania Western University.

The four pillars show a clear shape: mobility is the strongest, while return is the weakest. Access and affordability sit between them.

The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide, a pattern that coincides with the university's broad-access mission and more modest earnings outcomes.

Mobility is the clearest part of Pennsylvania Western University’s profile, even as return is its weakest pillar. Azimuth places the university's mobility pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Access stands in the 68th percentile and affordability in the 62nd percentile, while return is in the 24th percentile. The stronger mobility and access measures sit alongside a return measure that warrants closer attention.

38.3% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores ranged from 940 to 1,140.

The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores ranged from 17 to 25. These figures describe the academic profile and financial-access reach of this public university in California, Pennsylvania.

Azimuth ranks Pennsylvania Western University #473 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 46.9%, which is 5.0 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #287 for mobility. Graduates earn about $6,072 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Pennsylvania Western University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#590

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 80
Access & reach
National percentile: 68
Affordability
National percentile: 62
Return on investment
National percentile: 24

01 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

Pennsylvania Western University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Pennsylvania Western University, aid recipients face an average net price of $18,256, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That figure is $4,188 above the peer median of $14,068 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid reduces the published cost of attendance of $26,916 by $8,660 on average for these recipients. Published in-state tuition and fees are $11,436, room and board are $12,690, and out-of-state tuition and fees are $16,054.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 62nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid lowers the published price, but the remains above that of comparable institutions.

For aid recipients, the published cost of attendance at Pennsylvania Western University is $26,916, but average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, differs by family-income band. Families in the lowest-income band average $13,944, compared with $14,171 in the lower-middle band and $16,517 in the middle band.

The upper-middle band averages $20,633, and the highest-income band averages $23,272. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,328; Azimuth ranks the university #542 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, financial aid reduces the sticker price by $8,660, and aid covers about 32% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Across all aid recipients, average net price is $18,256, which is $4,188 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $14,068.

Published tuition is $11,436 for in-state students and $16,054 for out-of-state students. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,725, or $2,496 above the peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Federal loans are used by 93.3% of federal aid recipients, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $17,794.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,517

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Pennsylvania Western University

Federal borrowing touches 93.3% of federal aid recipients at Pennsylvania Western University, so the debt picture applies broadly among students who use federal loans. For borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $23,725.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229; Pennsylvania Western's median is $2,496 above that figure. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $17,794.

Mobility is the strongest pillar at Pennsylvania Western University, but its return figures call for caution. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $54,553 four years after completion.

That figure sits 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, also falls below the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,072 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios run from $42,401 in the downside case to $77,207 in the upside case; the typical scenario matches the median earnings figure. Median federal student debt at completion is $23,725, $2,496 above the $21,229 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings below model expectations and debt above comparable institutions point in the same direction.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $17,794.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,725
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$17,794

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$270/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$226/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 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

Pennsylvania Western University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Mobility is the strongest pillar at Pennsylvania Western University, and return is its weakest. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,072 less than the model expects for similar students. That earnings beyond expectations measure, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,412. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,484.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $234. Median earnings are $54,553 four years after completion, in the 31st percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301; the university is $2,748 below it.

For federally aided completers from Pennsylvania Western University, the earnings picture is modest: median pay is $54,553 four years after completion among those working and no longer enrolled. This measure falls in Azimuth's 31st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and draws on an earnings cohort of 4,484 completers.

Graduates earn about $6,072 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 negative here.

Scenarios modeled from the program mix set typical earnings at $54,553, with a downside scenario at $42,401 and an upside scenario at $77,207. An estimated 28.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The lower earnings standing and less-than-expected model result point in the same direction.

Pennsylvania Western University records median earnings of $54,553 four years after completion, placing its earnings measure in the 31st percentile. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $42,401 and the upside at $77,207.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, with the university's figure $2,748 below it. Graduates earn about $6,072 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, sits in the 32nd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,412.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,484. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $234.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and model result point in the same direction.

Program earnings range widely across the fields with the highest reported medians. Nursing was much larger, with 273 degrees awarded and median earnings of $82,099.

The modeled earnings range is broad, making field of study central to the picture at Pennsylvania Western University. Scenarios based on the program mix run from $42,401 on the downside to $77,207 on the upside; they are earnings scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

Among higher-earning fields, median earnings four years after completion are $83,194 in Health Sciences, $82,099 in Nursing, and $77,401 in Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. Those field results help explain the span between the earnings scenarios.

The cost-and-debt picture calls for caution because borrower debt is above the peer median and graduates earn less than the model expects. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,256.

Across family-income bands, average net price is $13,944 for the lowest-income band, $14,171 for the next-lowest band, $16,517 for the middle band, $20,633 for the next-highest band, and $23,272 for the highest-income band. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,725.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229, and Pennsylvania Western University’s figure is above it by $2,496. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $270 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are also lower. Graduates earn about $6,072 less than the model expects for similar students. Debt above peers and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,412
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,484
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$6,072

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 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

Pennsylvania Western University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Pennsylvania Western University admitted 94.3% of applicants to the reported entering class, a broad admission outcome for that pool. That rate is above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
94.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
940
Reported average
1063
Approximate upper endpoint
1140

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 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

What are the largest majors at Pennsylvania Western University?[12]

At Pennsylvania Western University, four-year earnings differ sharply by field, with health programs at the higher end and broader programs at more moderate levels. Health Sciences had median earnings of $83,194 four years after completion, with 26 degrees awarded.

Nursing recorded $82,099 and 273 degrees awarded in the same academic year. Among larger programs, Business Administration and Management posted median earnings of $55,515 four years after completion across 169 degrees awarded.

Liberal Arts and General Studies recorded $44,180 with 220 degrees awarded. The contrast between the health fields and these broader programs shows that the earnings picture depends substantially on field of study.

At Pennsylvania Western University, Health Professions accounts for 17.4% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the university’s largest program family. Its largest fields show a wide range of median earnings four years after completion. Earnings vary considerably across these large fields.

The bachelor's degrees at Pennsylvania Western University are spread across several fields, with no single family dominating the mix. Health Professions accounts for the largest share at 17.4% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 12.6% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 9.3%.

The university has 38 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, which awards 273 degrees a year, followed by Liberal Arts and General Studies at 220 and Business Administration and Management at 169.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Health Sciences graduates earn a median of $83,194 four years after completion, from just 26 degrees awarded a year. Nursing, the largest program, is the second-highest-earning at $82,099.

Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians graduates earn a median of $77,401 from 18 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences follows at $73,164, with 90 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of a broad-access public university where many of the largest programs sit below the national median for their fields. Liberal Arts and General Studies and Kinesiology and Physical Education fall short of the national benchmark, while Teacher Education matches it.

The highest earnings come from programs with far fewer degrees awarded. 11.4% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 273 degrees awarded
$82,099
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 220 degrees awarded
$44,180
Business Administration, Management and Operations 169 degrees awarded
$55,515
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 153 degrees awarded
$47,468
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 150 degrees awarded
$47,295
Criminal Justice and Corrections 135 degrees awarded
$49,817

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 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

How does Pennsylvania Western University serve students from different backgrounds?

At Pennsylvania Western University, mobility is the strongest measured pillar, with a 51.9% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort. Pell recipients in that cohort have a 46.9% six-year completion rate, below the overall rate by 5.0 percentage points.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the mobility pillar lands in the 80th percentile. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 32nd percentile.

Graduates earn about $6,072 less than the model expects for similar students. The mobility picture is stronger than the modeled earnings picture.

Pennsylvania Western University has a broad admission gateway, admitting 94.3% of applicants. Its undergraduate enrollment is 7,451 undergraduates.

Pell Grants reach 38.3% of undergraduates, and an estimated 28.4% of undergraduates entered as transfers or part-time students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar lands in the 68th percentile.

Admission, Pell participation, and transfer entry describe several paths into the university.

06 / Pennsylvania Western University briefing

What colleges are similar to Pennsylvania Western 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 Pennsylvania Western University.

Admissions peerCarlow University87.0% admitted
Comparison with Pennsylvania Western University
MeasurePennsylvania Western UniversityCarlow University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,553$67,381+$12,828 vs Pennsylvania Western University
Average annual net price$18,256$20,786+$2,530 vs Pennsylvania Western University · higher cost
Admission rate94.3%87.0%
Nearby alternativeSlippery Rock University of PennsylvaniaNearby option · PA
Comparison with Pennsylvania Western University
MeasurePennsylvania Western UniversitySlippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,553$57,301+$2,748 vs Pennsylvania Western University
Average annual net price$18,256$19,608+$1,352 vs Pennsylvania Western University · higher cost
Admission rate94.3%71.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeRegis University$81,785 earnings
Comparison with Pennsylvania Western University
MeasurePennsylvania Western UniversityRegis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,553$81,785+$27,232 vs Pennsylvania Western University
Average annual net price$18,256$18,397+$141 vs Pennsylvania Western University · higher cost
Admission rate94.3%86.5%
Lower-cost alternativeFairmont State University$9,032 average net price
Comparison with Pennsylvania Western University
MeasurePennsylvania Western UniversityFairmont State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,553$52,884-$1,669 vs Pennsylvania Western University
Average annual net price$18,256$9,032-$9,224 vs Pennsylvania Western University · lower cost
Admission rate94.3%98.6%
Similar profileSlippery Rock University of PennsylvaniaMatched across several measures
Comparison with Pennsylvania Western University
MeasurePennsylvania Western UniversitySlippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Peer earnings · 4 years$54,553$57,301+$2,748 vs Pennsylvania Western University
Average annual net price$18,256$19,608+$1,352 vs Pennsylvania Western University · higher cost
Admission rate94.3%71.5%

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