Duke University
Private Research University in Durham, NC. Six-year graduation rate 97%. Median 10-year earnings $97,800.
Students who entered Duke University reach a median of $97,800 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate of 97% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $13,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.13 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 97% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 6% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 6% of applicants receive an offer. The applicant pool is large — 51,795 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. A 59% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 48% 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 | 740–770 | 824 (48%) |
| SAT Math | 760–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–35 | 526 (30%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Duke University →Academics
97% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 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 6,488 — 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 6,416 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,981 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $735 at the $0–30k band to $54,230 at $110k+. 54% of students receive grant aid, averaging $56,565 — common but not automatic. Only 14% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 1,741 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 | $735 |
| $30–48k | $-361 |
| $48–75k | $5,706 |
| $75–110k | $17,100 |
| $110k+ | $54,230 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 885 of these 6,416 students, totalling $4,400,419 — an average of $4,972 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Durham 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)