Carnegie Mellon University
Private Research University in Pittsburgh, PA. Six-year graduation rate 94%. Median 10-year earnings $114,862.
Ten-year median earnings of $114,862 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 94% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,750, neither a bargain nor a burden. On economic mobility, 2.2% of students travel from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.19 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 94% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 12% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 12% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. 33,941 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 46% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. Read the score bands below as the middle 50% of submitted scores, not a threshold to clear.
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 | 730–770 | 951 (53%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–35 | 405 (22%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Carnegie Mellon University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 94% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 98% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. A 5:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate population is 7,289 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,187 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $35,552 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,097 at the $0–30k band to $51,480 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 49% of students receive any. About 34% 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 · 1,708 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 | $9,097 |
| $30–48k | $6,994 |
| $48–75k | $14,468 |
| $75–110k | $24,865 |
| $110k+ | $51,480 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,447 of these 7,187 students, totalling $11,709,490 — an average of $4,785 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Allegheny 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)