Capella University
For-profit College in Minneapolis, MN. Six-year graduation rate 20%. Median 10-year earnings $42,189.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $42,189 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 20% graduate within six years. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $14,968.
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
- ! Graduation rate 20% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 20% graduate within six years. 42% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Transfer-out runs to 27% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. A 41:1 ratio means students need to be deliberate about getting faculty time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 16,173 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,199 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $17,485 at $0–30k, $22,820 at $110k+. Only 41% of students receive grant aid, so most families are paying near the published price. About 47% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 72 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 | $17,485 |
| $30–48k | $17,324 |
| $48–75k | $17,490 |
| $75–110k | $21,292 |
| $110k+ | $22,820 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,617 of these 16,173 students, totalling $55,708,763 — an average of $7,314 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hennepin County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)