Caribbean University-Ponce
Private College in Ponce, PR. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $22,842.
Ten-year median earnings of $22,842 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 33% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $10,500 — modest by four-year standards.
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 33% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 33% graduate within six years. Retention of 76% 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. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 419 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $4,964 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. Net price varies modestly by income — $6,680 at $0–30k against $4,964 at $30–48k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Grant aid is widespread — 94% of students receive it, averaging $5,323. Federal borrowing reaches 36% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 58 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 | $6,680 |
| $30–48k | $4,964 |
| $48–75k | — |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 149 of these 419 students, totalling $1,123,116 — an average of $7,538 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ponce Municipio) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026