Clarke University
Private College in Dubuque, IA. Six-year graduation rate 56%. Median 10-year earnings $55,396.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $55,396 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 56% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,717, neither a bargain nor a burden. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.4% of students move 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
72% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 3,394 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. A 6% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 4% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 430–570 | 6 (4%) |
| SAT Math | 470–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–24 | 10 (7%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Clarke University →Academics
Completion is middling: 56% finish inside six years. Retention of 67% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. With 39% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. The 9:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. 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 795 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $26,725 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $23,405 at $0–30k against $24,784 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. Most students get help: 95% receive grants worth $27,483 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 74% take federal loans.
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 · 199 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 | $23,405 |
| $30–48k | $22,543 |
| $48–75k | $22,645 |
| $75–110k | $27,890 |
| $110k+ | $24,784 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 587 of these 795 students, totalling $6,409,544 — an average of $10,919 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Dubuque 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)