ASPIRA City College
Private College in Philadelphia, PA. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $34,857.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $34,857, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
At 50%, the acceptance rate makes ASPIRA City College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool is small at 6, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. A 100% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at ASPIRA City College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 50%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 67% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. At 7:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit two-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 12 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $13,671 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price varies modestly by income — $12,380 at $0–30k against $16,252 at $48–75k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 100% of students receive it, averaging $5,416. 58% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 3 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $12,380 |
| $30–48k | — |
| $48–75k | $16,252 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7 of these 12 students, totalling $39,468 — an average of $5,638 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Philadelphia County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026