College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Scranton

PAMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #702 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, Azimuth places University of Scranton at the 52nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Scranton is a private nonprofit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the degree mix is led by Business, Health Professions, and Biological Sciences. Return is well above average, and the university suits a student who wants a professional program with earnings outcomes.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment, and the local labor market—which add, and part to what it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is wide. Pell students complete below the overall rate, and access is modestly below average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs with published earnings should know that Nursing and Finance are also the best-paid ones.

University of Scranton at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
81.2%
Six-year completion[2]
79.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$79,409

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$23,912
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$41,370

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

University of Scranton is a private nonprofit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania, enrolling 3,554 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (52nd percentile).

The profile shows one running high and another running low. University of Scranton admits 81.2% of applicants, against a peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 85.4% return after the first year, against a peer median of 83.4%. The six-year graduation rate is 79.8% for that first-time, full-time cohort, compared with a peer median of 68.8%.

An estimated 6.6% of entrants arrive as transfers, which means the six-year figure captures only the students who began here as freshmen and not the full student body. Return is the strongest of the four pillars, while affordability is the weakest.

Access and mobility sit between them. The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide, and the overall composite sits in the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions rather than near either end.

Return is the clearest positive in the University of Scranton profile, while affordability is the part that most complicates the overall picture. Azimuth puts return in the 89th percentile and access in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

In the same Azimuth cohort, mobility is in the 52nd percentile, while affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 9th percentile. Strong return sits beside a much weaker affordability result, so outcomes and cost point in different directions.

24.1% of undergraduates at University of Scranton receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access at this private nonprofit university located in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Azimuth ranks University of Scranton #944 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar weighs both the share of undergraduates receiving federal aid and whether those students finish within six years. Pell recipients complete at 73.8%, below the overall six-year rate (79.8%) by 6.0 percentage points.

Azimuth ranks the university #706 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students.

Mobility ranks higher than access here, and the earnings result points the same way, leaving access as the lower-ranking of the two pillars that shape this block.

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

University of Scranton rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#702

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 52
Access & reach
National percentile: 36
Affordability
National percentile: 9
Return on investment
National percentile: 89

01 / University of Scranton briefing

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

At University of Scranton, the price before aid remains high even after average grant and scholarship reductions are considered. The published cost of attendance is $69,552, an average across living arrangements.

Tuition and fees are $53,983 and room and board is $17,380. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $32,568.

Average aid offsets $36,984 of the published cost. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, placing Scranton $5,197 above that figure.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 9th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The higher-than-peer net price and low affordability standing point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at University of Scranton is $69,552 (an average across living arrangements), and aid-recipient costs differ markedly across family-income bands. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $23,896 for the lowest-income band; $23,407 for the lower-middle band; $23,912 for the middle band; $29,482 for the upper-middle band; and $39,348 for the highest-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $15,452, a difference between band averages rather than a family bill. Azimuth ranks University of Scranton #1,286 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 53% of the published cost, equal to average savings of $36,984 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, is $32,568, which is $5,197 above the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $53,983, and room and board is listed at $17,380; the higher-than-peer average net price puts the aid savings in context. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $27,000, and 96.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is $2,801 above the $24,199 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

For Parent PLUS borrowers, median borrowing is $41,370.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$23,912

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Scranton

At University of Scranton, completing federal-loan borrowers carry median federal student loan debt of $27,000. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median—the middle value—is $24,199, placing the university $2,801 above that figure.

Separate parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $41,370. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 71% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative debt of $59,942 per borrower.

That includes 70% of graduates with federal loans averaging $24,264. Private loans were held by 24% of graduates, averaging $62,506.

The return picture at University of Scranton is led by earnings that outpace the model's expectation, though the affordability pillar sits at the 9th percentile and shapes the investment case. Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,409, at the 88th percentile nationally.

Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 63rd percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $56,663 in a downside case to $98,845 in an upside case, with the typical scenario matching the observed median.

Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,801 above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowing is a separate part of the family cost picture: median Parent PLUS borrowing is $41,370 for parent borrowers. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 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
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$41,370

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$526/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 Scranton briefing

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

Four-year earnings at University of Scranton stand above comparable institutions, giving the university a favorable return picture. Median earnings are $79,409 four years after completion, in the 88th percentile.

Azimuth places its return pillar in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, sits in the 63rd 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 $4,123.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,998. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university is $11,159 above it.

University of Scranton posts a high earnings result for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Their median earnings are $79,409 four years after completion.

Azimuth places this measure in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,191 completers. That puts the reported outcome well above the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

A typical earnings scenario, anchored in the program mix, is $79,409 four years after completion; it is a scenario rather than an observed group. An estimated 34.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

The figures pair strong early earnings with a sizable modeled continuation to graduate study.

University of Scranton shows a $79,409 median four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, placing its earnings in the 88th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, leaving the university's figure $11,159 above it.

Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 63rd 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 $4,123. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,998.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,966. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $56,663 in the downside scenario to $98,845 in the upside scenario.

Azimuth ranks the university #168 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Nursing, the largest program, awarded 74 degrees and had median earnings of $105,353 four years after completion, at 1.19x the national median for its field.

At University of Scranton, the modeled earnings outlook differs across possible program mixes. The downside scenario puts earnings at $56,663, the typical scenario at $79,409, and the upside scenario at $98,845; these are earnings scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Individual fields also show different outcomes four years after completion: Nursing has median earnings of $105,353, Finance has $100,962, and Accounting has $93,677. The scenario range reflects variation in the modeled program mix.

Return and cost pull in different directions at University of Scranton. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000, above the $24,199 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $2,801.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $32,568, above the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,197. By income band, averages are $23,896 at the lowest, $23,407 next, $23,912 in the middle, $29,482 next-highest, and $39,348 at the highest.

Aid covers about 53% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. Above-peer price and debt pull against above-expected earnings.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,123
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$1,998
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$2,125

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 Scranton briefing

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

University of Scranton admits 81.2% of applicants, above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The rate describes an admissions outcome, rather than a prediction for an individual applicant.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 9,575 first-year applicants, 7,666 admitted applicants, and 916 enrolled students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
81.2%
25th percentile
1160
Median
1230
75th percentile
1300

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Scranton briefing

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

The prominent programs at University of Scranton span markedly different earnings levels four years after completion. Nursing sits at the higher end, with median earnings of $105,353 and 74 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $100,962 across 46 degrees awarded, and Accounting records $93,677 with 63 degrees awarded. The contrast is clearest against Biology, which had median earnings of $64,774 four years after completion and 66 degrees awarded.

These higher- and moderate-earning fields show that the school-level earnings figure covers programs with different outcomes.

Business accounts for 22.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, giving the program mix a substantial business presence. Published earnings data cover 20 fields, and the largest fields show varied median earnings four years after completion: Nursing had 74 degrees awarded and $105,353; Biology, 66 degrees awarded and $64,774; Accounting, 63 degrees awarded and $93,677; Kinesiology and Physical Education, 51 degrees awarded and $79,700; and Finance, 46 degrees awarded and $100,962.

The listed fields span a wide earnings range, so the intended field matters in interpreting the school-level result.

The degree mix at University of Scranton is led by Business, which accounts for 22.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 18.9% and Biological Sciences at 15.8%. The university has 20 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 74 degrees awarded, Biology at 66, and Accounting at 63. The highest-earning program is also the largest.

Nursing graduates earn a median of $105,353 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.19x against the national median for its field. Finance follows at $100,962, with 46 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 1.21x.

Computer Science is a much smaller program, at 7 degrees awarded, but its graduates earn $98,369. That figure sits at 0.92x of the national median for the field, so the earnings are below the field's own benchmark.

Accounting and Marketing round out the top five, at $93,677 and $83,756 respectively. The pattern is one of strength concentrated in professional fields.

The largest programs—Nursing, Biology, and Accounting—all carry benchmark ratios above the national median. 21.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings for fields where many graduates continue to graduate study may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 74 degrees awarded
$105,353
Biology, General 66 degrees awarded
$64,774
Accounting and Related Services 63 degrees awarded
$93,677
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 60 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 51 degrees awarded
$79,700
Finance and Financial Management Services 46 degrees awarded
$100,962

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 Scranton briefing

How does University of Scranton serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion is a relative strength: the first-time full-time cohort has a 79.8% six-year graduation rate. Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 73.8%, below the overall rate by 6.0 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 52nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also lean positive.

Graduates earn about $2,125 more than the model expects for similar students. That measure stands in the 63rd percentile, so the completion and modeled earnings measures point in the same direction.

For applicants, University of Scranton offers a relatively open admissions route, admitting 81.2% of applicants. The university enrolls 3,554 undergraduates; 24.1% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 6.6% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, its access pillar falls in the 36th percentile. The admission rate, Pell participation, and estimated transfer entry describe several ways into the current undergraduate population.

06 / University of Scranton briefing

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

Admissions peerSusquehanna University81.4% admitted
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonSusquehanna University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$58,506-$20,903 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$28,819-$3,749 vs University of Scranton · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%81.4%
Explore Susquehanna University →
Higher-admission alternativeLa Salle University96.6% admitted
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonLa Salle University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$70,254-$9,155 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$19,409-$13,159 vs University of Scranton · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%96.6%
Nearby alternativeLa Salle UniversityNearby option · PA
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonLa Salle University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$70,254-$9,155 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$19,409-$13,159 vs University of Scranton · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%96.6%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis$131,813 earnings
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$131,813+$52,404 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$31,817-$751 vs University of Scranton · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%89.8%
Explore University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$82,748+$3,339 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$3,033-$29,535 vs University of Scranton · lower cost
Admission rate81.2%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profileBrandeis UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Scranton
MeasureUniversity of ScrantonBrandeis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$79,409$76,742-$2,667 vs University of Scranton
Average annual net price$32,568$35,736+$3,168 vs University of Scranton · higher cost
Admission rate81.2%40.5%
Explore Brandeis 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 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