College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Trine University

INMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1110 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Trine University #1,110 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Trine University is a private nonprofit university in Angola, Indiana, with a degree mix led by Engineering and Parks, Recreation & Fitness. Its strongest is return, which is above average, while access and mobility are both below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes the gap to the factors it measures, which adds to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. What the lowest-income families pay after aid is well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate that is below the overall cohort's, and the university's mobility and access pillars both sit below the levels seen at many peers. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools.

The largest programs span a wide earnings range: the most popular field, Kinesiology and Physical Education, earns substantially less than the highest-earning program, Electrical Engineering.

Trine University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
85.5%
Six-year completion[2]
64.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$67,814

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,463
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$32,897

Trine University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Trine University is a private nonprofit university in Angola, Indiana, enrolling 2,324 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower quarter of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions, with the four pillars spread widely apart.

Return is the strongest (72nd percentile), while access and mobility sit near the bottom of the field. The university admits 85.5% of applicants, a rate well above the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 79.9% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%. The six-year graduation rate is 64.4%, compared to a peer median of 68.8%.

An estimated 11.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a cohort that started here. The shape is a private nonprofit where return is the outlier pillar, well ahead of the other three.

Affordability (24th percentile), mobility (14th), and access (10th) sit well below return, and the composite shows that spread.

Trine University's strongest pillar is return on investment, where it sits in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That reflects graduates who earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students.

The other pillars trail considerably. Access is the weakest, in the 10th percentile, while mobility lands in the 14th percentile and affordability in the 24th percentile. The return pillar stands apart from the rest of the profile.

15.6% of undergraduates at Trine University receive Pell Grants. The university is a private nonprofit university in Angola, Indiana.

Azimuth ranks Trine University #1,315 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 56.3%, which is 8.1 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (64.4%).

Azimuth ranks the university #1,269 for mobility. Graduates earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Trine University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,110

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 14
Access & reach
National percentile: 10
Affordability
National percentile: 24
Return on investment
National percentile: 72

01 / Trine University briefing

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

Trine University publishes a cost of attendance of $51,109, which includes $36,560 in tuition and fees and $13,120 for room and board. For the average aid recipient, the net price—what students pay after grants and scholarships—is $25,355, a savings of $25,754 against the sticker total.

That sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,016, a narrow gap. Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,068 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Trine University's published cost of attendance is $51,109, with tuition and fees of $36,560 and room and board at $13,120. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $19,661; for the middle band, families earning $48,001–$75,000, it is $19,463; and for families earning over $110,000 it is $29,066.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,405. Azimuth ranks the university #1,068 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 50% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $25,754 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $25,355, which sits below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,016.

The median federal student debt at completion is $25,000, with 91.2% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That debt is above the peer median of $24,199 by $801.

The median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower figure, is $32,897. If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,463

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Trine University

At Trine University, completers who borrowed through federal loan programs owe a median of $25,000 at completion. Federal loans reach 91.2% of federal aid recipients.

The peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, and the university's median is $801 above that level. Parent borrowers, counted separately from students, hold a median Parent PLUS debt of $32,897.

Four years after completing a degree, Trine University graduates earn a median of $67,814. Graduates earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 71st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $49,052 in a downside case to $86,102 in an upside case. The typical earnings scenario sits at $67,814.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $25,000, which is $801 above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

The earnings picture and the debt picture point in different directions here: graduates out-earn the model's expectation, but they also carry slightly more federal debt than peers at similar schools.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $32,897. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $284.

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
$32,897

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$418/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 / Trine University briefing

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

Trine University graduates earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 71st percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,721.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,755. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $6,082.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $67,814, in the 72nd percentile. That is below the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $436.

The return pillar lands in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios, grounded in the university's program mix, range from a downside of $49,052 to an upside of $86,102.

The lowest-earning large program, Psychology, has a median of $46,798, while the highest-earning program, Electrical Engineering, reaches $92,945.

Four years after finishing, Trine University graduates who received federal aid and are working earn a median of $67,814. The earnings cohort numbers 701 completers, and Azimuth places the figure at the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a range: a typical scenario of $67,814, a downside scenario of $49,052, and an upside scenario of $86,102.

An estimated 25.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

At Trine University, federally aided graduates working and not enrolled earn a median of $67,814 four years after completion, in the 72nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, leaving the university $436 below that level.

Azimuth ranks Trine University #409 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome is in the 71st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures, which include field of study, enrollment and the local labor market, adds $7,721.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain, separate from the measured factors, subtracts $2,755. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $6,082.

The bachelor's program mix leans heavily toward engineering and related technical fields, a composition that shapes the earnings picture. Estimated from that program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $49,052 and the upside scenario is $86,102.

An estimated 25.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, an estimate derived from the program mix.

Earnings four years after completion vary considerably by field at Trine University. The downside earnings scenario is $49,052, while the upside scenario reaches $86,102, a spread that reflects the mix of 13 programs with published data.

Engineering fields occupy the top of that range. Electrical Engineering completers earn a median of $92,945, Chemical Engineering graduates reach $88,192, and Mechanical Engineering completers earn $86,997. The largest program, Kinesiology and Physical Education, sits lower at $58,816.

Graduates of Trine University earn about $4,966 more than the model expects for similar students. The median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $25,000, which runs above the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $284. The average net price for aid recipients—what they pay after grants and scholarships—is $25,355, which is below the peer median of $27,371.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $32,897. Above-expected earnings coincide with a net price that sits below the peer median and a median debt that is only slightly above it.

The return picture is favorable: graduates earn more than the model predicts, and the cost and debt figures do not undercut that advantage.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,721
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$2,755
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$4,966

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 / Trine University briefing

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

Trine University admits most students who apply, with an admission rate of 85.5%. That figure sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size), reflecting broad access rather than a narrow gate.

Admissions
Admission rate
85.5%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Trine University briefing

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

Trine University awards bachelor's degrees across 13 fields with published four-year earnings, and the spread between the highest- and lowest-earning programs is wide. The top-earning field, Electrical Engineering, shows a median of $92,945 four years after completion, with 12 degrees awarded.

Chemical Engineering follows at $88,192 on 27 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, the second-largest program at the university, reaches $86,997 with 49 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Kinesiology and Physical Education, reports a median of $58,816 on 80 degrees awarded. Engineering fields report higher median earnings than this moderate-earning program, illustrating part of the earnings spread at Trine University.

The program mix at Trine University is anchored in engineering: Engineering accounts for 29.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and the five highest-earning fields are all engineering disciplines. The top earner, Electrical Engineering, shows a median of $92,945 four years after completion with 12 degrees awarded.

Chemical Engineering follows at $88,192 (27 degrees awarded), and Mechanical Engineering at $86,997 (49 degrees awarded). Outside of engineering, the largest program is Kinesiology and Physical Education, which awarded 80 degrees and shows a median of $58,816.

The bachelor's degree mix at Trine University is anchored by Engineering, which accounts for 29.3% of degrees awarded. Parks, Recreation & Fitness is the second-largest family at 17.2%, followed by Business at 12.3%.

The university has 13 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Kinesiology and Physical Education, awarding 80 degrees a year.

Mechanical Engineering is next at 49 degrees awarded, and Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians follows with 39. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering.

Electrical Engineering leads at $92,945 four years after completion, though it is a smaller program with 12 degrees awarded. Chemical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering follow closely, at $88,192 and $86,997 respectively.

The pattern is one of a practical, career-oriented mix where the largest programs and the highest-earning ones are not the same. The top-earning fields are smaller, while the largest programs in kinesiology and design technology sit at more moderate earnings levels. Across all fields, 46.8% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 80 degrees awarded
$58,816
Mechanical Engineering 49 degrees awarded
$86,997
Drafting/Design Engineering Technologies/Technicians 39 degrees awarded
$77,517
Psychology, General 32 degrees awarded
$46,798
Criminal Justice and Corrections 31 degrees awarded
$48,877
Civil Engineering 29 degrees awarded
$78,808

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 / Trine University briefing

How does Trine University serve students from different backgrounds?

Trine University sits on the lower-access side of the chart: 15.6% of its 2,324 undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The overall six-year graduation rate of 64.4% and the Pell completion rate of 56.3% both land below the peer median of 68.8%. The Pell rate trails the overall rate by 8.1 percentage points.

Trine University admits 85.5% of applicants, well above the peer median of 71.2% — the middle value for comparable institutions. Pell Grant recipients account for 15.6% of the 2,324 undergraduates, and an estimated 11.7% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the weakest of the university's four pillars. The access rank sits at #1,315 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

While the admission rate signals broad entry, the Pell share and transfer-in estimate suggest a student body drawn mostly from first-time enrollees.

06 / Trine University briefing

What colleges are similar to Trine 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 Trine University.

Admissions peerUniversity of Toledo92.0% admitted
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityUniversity of Toledo
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$66,084-$1,730 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$17,249-$8,106 vs Trine University · lower cost
Admission rate85.5%92.0%
Explore University of Toledo →
Higher-admission alternativeDavenport University97.8% admitted
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityDavenport University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$69,009+$1,195 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$17,707-$7,648 vs Trine University · lower cost
Admission rate85.5%97.8%
Nearby alternativeOhio Northern UniversityNearby option · OH
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityOhio Northern University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$72,080+$4,266 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$24,478-$877 vs Trine University · lower cost
Admission rate85.5%74.4%
Explore Ohio Northern University →
Higher-earnings alternativeManhattan University$88,328 earnings
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityManhattan University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$88,328+$20,514 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$27,256+$1,901 vs Trine University · higher cost
Admission rate85.5%78.9%
Explore Manhattan University →
Lower-cost alternativeAndrews University$12,547 average net price
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityAndrews University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$60,517-$7,297 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$12,547-$12,808 vs Trine University · lower cost
Admission rate85.5%81.9%
Similar profileJohn Carroll UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Trine University
MeasureTrine UniversityJohn Carroll University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,814$67,580-$234 vs Trine University
Average annual net price$25,355$28,746+$3,391 vs Trine University · higher cost
Admission rate85.5%80.9%

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

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

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance 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