College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce

PRMedium public institution · Overall rank #425 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Puerto Rico at Ponce #425 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce is a public university in Ponce, Puerto Rico, where the largest degree families are Psychology and Biological Sciences. Access is among the highest we track, and affordability is among the highest we track.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — and a subtraction to the remainder it cannot explain.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure captures most completers. Both income bands pay below the published cost.

Median federal debt sits well below the median at comparable institutions. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and the university is oriented toward the sciences and health professions.

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
52.4%
Six-year completion[2]
46.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$29,384

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,017
Median student debt[4]
$5,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
Not reported

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce is a public university in Ponce, Puerto Rico, enrolling 2,278 undergraduates. The university falls in the upper third of nonprofit four-year institutions overall.

52.4% of applicants gain admission, against a median of 85.9% at comparable institutions (same type and size). The first-year retention rate is 73.0%, against a peer median of 73.7% for institutions in the same type and size.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 46.2%, against a median of 49.1% for comparable institutions. An estimated 6.0% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate covers only the first-time full-time cohort.

The four sit far apart. Access is the strongest, affordability is close behind, and return is the weakest, with mobility in between.

That spread is the central feature of University of Puerto Rico at Ponce's results across the four dimensions.

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce sits in the top percentiles on two pillars and near the bottom on a third. That mix yields a composite rank of #425 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

The composite rests on two pillars that sit in the top percentiles and one that sits near the bottom. Access is the strongest pillar, at the 99th percentile, and affordability is close behind at the 98th percentile.

Mobility is in the 61st percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 1st percentile.

82.6% of undergraduates at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce receive Pell Grants, a share that anchors the access pillar here. Azimuth ranks the university #15 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks University of Puerto Rico at Ponce #456 among the same cohort. Four years after completing, graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#425

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 61
Access & reach
National percentile: 99
Affordability
National percentile: 98
Return on investment
National percentile: 1

Top-ranked majors

  1. Psychology, Other#4
  2. Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other#7
  3. Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology#18

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

Explore major rankings

01 / University of Puerto Rico at Ponce briefing

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce is $17,193, and the typical aid recipient pays far less than that sticker price. In-state tuition and fees are $5,354; out-of-state tuition is also $5,354.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $10,990, a reduction of $6,203 from the published cost. This amount reflects what aid recipients actually pay once grants and scholarships are applied, and it is not a promise for any individual family.

That average sits $3,078 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #31 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance is $17,193, and Azimuth ranks University of Puerto Rico at Ponce #31 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $10,114, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $13,017, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $12,404.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $2,290. Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The across all aid recipients is $10,990, which is $3,078 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $5,500 in federal student loans.

About 11.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Their median debt is $15,729 below the peer median of $21,229.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $63 a month if repaid over ten years. It estimates costs and payments for your situation.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,017

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce

Federal borrowing is light at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce. Only 11.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and among those who complete, the median debt is $5,500.

That figure is $15,729 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $63 a month.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of Puerto Rico at Ponce who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $29,384. That places the median in the 1st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and it is $27,917 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students, a result at the 26th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $23,013 on the downside to $34,845 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $29,384.

The median federal debt of $5,500 sits below the peer median, and the estimated monthly payment is $63.

For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $63 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
$5,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
No federal loan data

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$63/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
No federal loan data

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 Puerto Rico at Ponce briefing

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $29,384. That figure is $27,917 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it sits at the 1st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 26th percentile.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar at the 1st 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 $4,721. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,323.

Among federally aided completers at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce who are working and not enrolled four years after finishing, median earnings are $29,384. This reflects a cohort of 553 graduates.

That median falls at the 1st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students.

That gap places the university at the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations compare actual pay to what the model predicts for comparable students.

Scenario estimates from the program mix point to $29,384 as the typical outcome, $23,013 on the downside and $34,845 on the upside. The program mix also suggests an estimated 41.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on that same mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $29,384. That is $27,917 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks University of Puerto Rico at Ponce #1,465 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 26th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,721.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $12,323. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,402.

The program mix tilts toward health, psychology and biology, fields where early-career earnings in Puerto Rico tend to run below the national benchmarks for those same programs. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $23,013 and the upside is $34,845.

An estimated 41.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $23,013 on the downside to $34,845 on the upside, with $29,384 as the typical scenario. These are estimates, not observed groups of graduates.

The highest-earning program, Computer and Information Sciences, reports median earnings of $35,882 four years after completion, from 21 degrees awarded. Accounting follows at $35,275 with 32 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, awards 66 degrees and shows median earnings of $33,568.

At University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, the median federal student loan debt for borrowers who finish is $5,500. That is $15,729 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $63 a month if repaid over ten years. The published cost of attendance is $17,193.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $10,990. Aid covers about 36% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote.

Graduates earn about $7,602 less than the model expects for similar students, while debt sits well below the peer median. The estimated payment is modest, but the earnings picture requires attention alongside it.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,721
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$12,323
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$7,602

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 Puerto Rico at Ponce briefing

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of Puerto Rico at Ponce admits just over half of its applicants, at 52.4%. That is well below the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Admissions
Admission rate
52.4%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Puerto Rico at Ponce briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce?[12]

The largest programs at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce sit in health and the sciences, but the earnings picture is mixed. Biological and Biomedical Sciences awards the most degrees, at 66 a year, and Azimuth ranks it #7 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Graduates earn a median of $33,568 four years after completion. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program, at $35,882, though it awards only 21 degrees a year.

Accounting follows closely at $35,275 from 32 degrees awarded. At the more moderate end, Allied Health Professions graduates earn $22,339 from 39 degrees a year.

The spread between the top-earning and the more moderate programs is wide, and the fields that pay the most are not the ones producing the largest graduating classes.

Psychology is the largest program family at University of Puerto Rico at Ponce, accounting for 29.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Biological Sciences follows at 25.2%, with Business at 23.5%.

Azimuth ranks 3 of the university's bachelor's programs nationally in their fields. Psychology leads with a national rank of #4, from 47 degrees awarded a year and median earnings of $23,999 four years after completion.

The largest single program is Biological and Biomedical Sciences, ranked #7 nationally in its field, with 66 degrees awarded and median earnings of $33,568 four years after completion.

University of Puerto Rico at Ponce awards degrees across 11 programs with published four-year earnings data, and Azimuth ranks 3 of them nationally within their fields. Psychology is the largest program family, accounting for 29.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 25.2% and Business at 23.5%.

The largest single programs are Biological and Biomedical Sciences with 66 degrees awarded, Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology with 54, and Psychology with 47. Psychology is the highest-ranked program, at #2 in Puerto Rico within its field.

Biological and Biomedical Sciences, the largest program, ranks #7 nationally and #2 in Puerto Rico within its field. Its graduates earn $33,568.

Computer and Information Sciences reports the highest earnings among the university's programs, at $35,882, from 21 degrees awarded a year. The strongest ranks sit in the psychology and biological sciences families, which together award more than half of all degrees.

Earnings across the largest programs are tightly clustered, with the highest-earning program only a few thousand dollars above the median of the largest. 36.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other 66 degrees awarded
$33,568
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology 54 degrees awarded
$31,751
Psychology, Other 47 degrees awarded
$23,999
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions 39 degrees awarded
$22,339
Accounting and Related Services 32 degrees awarded
$35,275
Computer and Information Sciences, General 21 degrees awarded
$35,882

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 Puerto Rico at Ponce briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Puerto Rico at Ponce?[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 Puerto Rico at Ponce.

Admissions peerUniversity of Puerto Rico-Humacao54.8% admitted
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversity of Puerto Rico-Humacao
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$33,230+$3,846 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$12,675+$1,685 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · higher cost
Admission rate52.4%54.8%
Explore University of Puerto Rico-Humacao →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla81.4% admitted
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversity of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$29,117-$267 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$7,765-$3,225 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · lower cost
Admission rate52.4%81.4%
Explore University of Puerto Rico-Aguadilla →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Puerto Rico at CayeyNearby option · PR
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversity of Puerto Rico at Cayey
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$32,963+$3,579 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$10,176-$814 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · lower cost
Admission rate52.4%53.0%
Explore University of Puerto Rico at Cayey →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Puerto Rico at Cayey$32,963 earnings
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversity of Puerto Rico at Cayey
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$32,963+$3,579 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$10,176-$814 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · lower cost
Admission rate52.4%53.0%
Explore University of Puerto Rico at Cayey →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversidad Central de Bayamon$4,827 average net price
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversidad Central de Bayamon
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$31,246+$1,862 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$4,827-$6,163 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · lower cost
Admission rate52.4%65.9%
Similar profileUniversity of Puerto Rico-CarolinaMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
MeasureUniversity of Puerto Rico at PonceUniversity of Puerto Rico-Carolina
Peer earnings · 4 years$29,384$28,995-$389 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce
Average annual net price$10,990$12,945+$1,955 vs University of Puerto Rico at Ponce · higher cost
Admission rate52.4%54.5%
Explore University of Puerto Rico-Carolina →

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