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Private College

Ave Maria University

Private College in Ave Maria, FL. Six-year graduation rate 54%. Median 10-year earnings $49,520.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Ave Maria University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$49,520
Median debt at grad
$20,776
Graduation rate
53.9%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $49,520 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 54%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $20,776, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
41%
Applicants
2,689
Yield rate
32.8%

Selectivity is real here: only 41% of applicants are offered a place. 2,689 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 33% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.

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 Ave Maria University →

Academics

Full-time retention
79%
Transfer-out rate
39%
Student:faculty
17:1

Six-year completion sits at 54%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 79% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. The 39% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. At 17:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$25,294
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
99%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
46%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,229 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price after grant aid is $25,294 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $18,761 at the $0–30k band to $27,107 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $21,023. Federal borrowing reaches 46% of students.

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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$20,936

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 318 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 $18,761
$30–48k $20,840
$48–75k $23,790
$75–110k $24,088
$110k+ $27,107

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 565 of these 1,229 students, totalling $3,615,929 — an average of $6,400 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Collier County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,396/mo
1 bedroom
$1,797/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,986/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
52
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Ave Maria University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Ave Maria University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →