College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Maine

MEMedium public institution · Overall rank #615 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places University of Maine in its 58th composite percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Maine is a public university in Orono, Maine, where Business and Engineering lead the degree mix and mobility, the strongest , is above average. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools.

The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — and a subtraction to what it cannot explain. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, based on the program mix.

Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole. Mobility is above average, while access is modestly below average, so the university moves students it enrolls but serves a narrower income band than many.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs span a wide earnings range. A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs, like Computer Engineering, are much smaller.

University of Maine at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
96.6%
Six-year completion[2]
54.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$63,056

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,631
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$21,900

University of Maine rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Maine is a public university in Orono, Maine, enrolling 8,496 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (58th percentile).

The shape is a broad-access public campus where mobility is the strongest pillar and access the weakest, with return and affordability sitting between them. The university admits 96.6% of applicants, a rate above the 85.9% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 83.4% return for a second year and 54.9% finish within six years. Those figures sit above peer medians of 73.7% and 49.1%.

An estimated 20.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The four pillars sit some distance apart.

Mobility is the strongest of the four, while access is the weakest. Return and affordability fall between them, closer to the middle of the field.

Mobility is the clearest relative strength at University of Maine, while access is the weaker part of its profile. Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Return sits in the 55th percentile and affordability in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Access is in the 35th percentile, making it the weakest pillar.

The stronger mobility reading and middle-range return and affordability measures point to a mixed overall profile.

23.3% of undergraduates at University of Maine receive Pell Grants, the federal aid program that helps cover college costs for qualifying students. That share is the measure of financial access for the undergraduate body.

Azimuth ranks the university #956 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 46.9%, a rate that sits 8.0 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort.

That distance is the defining feature of the access pillar, which is the weakest of the four at this university. Mobility is the strongest pillar.

Azimuth ranks the university #388 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the mobility pillar's position.

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

University of Maine rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#615

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 74
Access & reach
National percentile: 35
Affordability
National percentile: 57
Return on investment
National percentile: 55

01 / University of Maine briefing

University of Maine cost & financial aid[6][7]

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, University of Maine reported in-state sticker tuition of $12,360 for the 2025-26 academic year. Out-of-state tuition is $35,790; required fees are $966, and on-campus food and housing are $13,410.

The published cost of attendance is $27,328. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,510, leaving average aid savings of $9,818 against that published cost.

This average is above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions, same type and size, by $3,442. Azimuth places affordability in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid brings the published cost down, although the average remains above comparable institutions’ net price.

At University of Maine, the published cost of attendance is $27,328, and aid recipients see markedly different average net prices by family-income band. The is $12,642 for the lowest-income band, $13,280 for the lower-middle-income band, $14,631 for the middle-income band, $18,508 for the upper-middle-income band, and $22,018 for the highest-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,376. Azimuth ranks the university #605 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,510. Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $9,818 against the sticker price.

The peer median net price, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068; the university is above it by $3,442. Aid lowers the published cost, yet the average aided price remains above the comparable-institution median.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000. The comparable-institution median is $21,229, placing the university above that figure by $3,771, and 92.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,900.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,631

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Maine

Federal borrowing is common at University of Maine: 92.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, while borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $25,000 at completion. The median is above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $3,771.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,900. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 64% of graduates borrowed from any source, including 62% with federal loans.

Average cumulative borrowing per borrower was $34,784, and average federal principal among federal borrowers was $21,278.

At University of Maine, earnings exceed the model’s expectation, while borrower debt is above the peer benchmark. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $63,056 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, fall in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios range from $45,941 in the downside case to $87,659 in the upside case, with the typical scenario at the same level as the median earnings figure.

Median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000, above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $3,771. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beat the model, though debt is above peers.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $21,900. 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
$21,900

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$278/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 / University of Maine briefing

University of Maine career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

University of Maine shows four-year earnings above its peer median, giving its return picture a favorable read. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,056 four years after completion.

That figure is in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is $5,755 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations.

That figure is in the 59th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,245. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,184.

At University of Maine, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled post median earnings of $63,056 four years after completion. Azimuth places that measure in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort includes 2,129 completers. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

A typical earnings scenario anchored on the program mix is $63,056. An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The earnings percentile and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction, while modeled program choices can yield different outcomes.

Federally aided graduates of University of Maine who are working and not enrolled earn $63,056 four years after completion, a level in the 60th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Against a peer median of $57,301 for comparable institutions (same type and size), the university lands $5,755 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks University of Maine #658 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome sits at the 59th percentile for this measure 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 $8,245.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,184. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,590.

The program mix covers business, engineering, education and nursing fields, giving graduates exposure to several distinct labor markets. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, run from a downside of $45,941 to an upside of $87,659.

An estimated 28.4% of graduates continue on to graduate study, based on the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Program field makes the earnings picture less uniform than a schoolwide median suggests. The downside earnings scenario is $45,941, while the upside scenario reaches $87,659.

These are scenarios based on lower- and higher-earning program clusters, not observed groups of graduates. The scenario range and these field results show why the intended degree matters to the earnings picture.

Federal loan borrowers who complete at University of Maine have median federal student loan debt of $25,000. That is $3,771 above the peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

This debt measure covers borrowers who completed and excludes Parent PLUS and private loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, have median borrowing of $21,900. Graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

Higher-than-expected earnings and debt above the peer median pull the return picture in different directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,245
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,184
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$1,061

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 / University of Maine briefing

University of Maine acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Maine admission rate is 96.6%, above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). That rate describes admissions outcomes for the reported applicant pool rather than an individual applicant’s odds.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 14,009 first-year applicants and 13,540 admitted applicants.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
96.6%
25th percentile
1060
Median
1190
75th percentile
1280

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Maine briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Maine?[12]

Engineering and computing supply the higher-earning end of the program picture at University of Maine. Four years after completion, Computer Engineering reports median earnings of $104,785 and 18 degrees awarded, while Electrical Engineering posts $100,593 with 18 degrees awarded.

These fields show higher earnings among programs with relatively limited numbers of degrees awarded. Computer Science also falls on the higher-earning side, with median earnings of $99,413 four years after completion and 30 degrees awarded.

Psychology presents a more moderate figure of $48,242 alongside 90 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that four-year earnings vary considerably by field within the university.

Program outcomes vary sharply across the fields that award the most degrees, so the major matters at University of Maine. The university publishes earnings data for 39 bachelor’s fields.

Business accounts for 16.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, while Engineering accounts for 13.2%. Among higher-earning fields, Computer Engineering awarded 18 degrees and had median earnings of $104,785 four years after completion.

The degree mix at University of Maine is anchored by Business, which accounts for 16.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and Engineering at 13.2%. Education is a distant third at 7.6%.

The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, with 118 degrees awarded, followed closely by Mechanical Engineering at 111 degrees awarded and Nursing at 94 degrees awarded. Across all fields, 31.7% of degrees are in STEM.

The university has 39 programs with published four-year earnings data. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering and computing.

Computer Engineering graduates report the top median earnings at $104,785 four years after completion, from a small cohort of 18 degrees awarded. Electrical Engineering follows at $100,593, with 18 degrees awarded.

Computer Science is the largest of the high-earning group, with 30 degrees awarded and median earnings of $99,413. Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians has a benchmark ratio of 1.12x against the national median for its field, the only program among the top earners to clear the national median.

The pattern is a public university whose largest programs span business, engineering, and nursing, while the strongest earnings come from smaller technical fields. Mechanical Engineering, the second-largest program, has median earnings of $85,064 four years after completion.

The largest program, Business Administration and Management, posts median earnings of $66,867, a figure that sits just below the national median for its field. Psychology, the fourth-largest program at 90 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $48,242.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 118 degrees awarded
$66,867
Mechanical Engineering 111 degrees awarded
$85,064
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 94 degrees awarded
$77,494
Psychology, General 90 degrees awarded
$48,242
Marketing 87 degrees awarded
$67,863
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 78 degrees awarded
$45,122

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 / University of Maine briefing

How does University of Maine serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the university's strongest Azimuth pillar, pairing completion measures with higher-than-expected earnings. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 54.9%, while Pell recipients' six-year completion rate is 46.9%, below the overall rate by 8.0 percentage points. Four years after completion, graduates earn about $1,061 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 59th percentile nationally.

Broad admission and transfer entry are the clearest access facts at University of Maine. The university's admission rate is 96.6% for applicants to the reported entering class, and it enrolls 8,496 undergraduates.

That rate describes the reported applicant pool rather than a personal chance of admission. Pell Grant recipients make up 23.3% of undergraduates, and an estimated 20.8% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places its access pillar in the 35th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / University of Maine briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Maine?[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 University of Maine.

Admissions peerHoughton University88.7% admitted
Comparison with University of Maine
MeasureUniversity of MaineHoughton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,056$41,835-$21,221 vs University of Maine
Average annual net price$17,510$20,519+$3,009 vs University of Maine · higher cost
Admission rate96.6%88.7%
Nearby alternativeHusson UniversityNearby option · ME
Comparison with University of Maine
MeasureUniversity of MaineHusson University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,056$62,950-$106 vs University of Maine
Average annual net price$17,510$21,005+$3,495 vs University of Maine · higher cost
Admission rate96.6%81.0%
Higher-earnings alternativeGeorge Mason University$78,425 earnings
Comparison with University of Maine
MeasureUniversity of MaineGeorge Mason University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,056$78,425+$15,369 vs University of Maine
Average annual net price$17,510$17,915+$405 vs University of Maine · higher cost
Admission rate96.6%87.5%
Explore George Mason University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with University of Maine
MeasureUniversity of MaineCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,056$62,833-$223 vs University of Maine
Average annual net price$17,510$3,103-$14,407 vs University of Maine · lower cost
Admission rate96.6%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileBridgewater State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Maine
MeasureUniversity of MaineBridgewater State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,056$59,669-$3,387 vs University of Maine
Average annual net price$17,510$16,383-$1,127 vs University of Maine · lower cost
Admission rate96.6%87.8%
Explore Bridgewater State University →

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