John Carroll University
Private College in University Heights, OH. Six-year graduation rate 79%. Median 10-year earnings $62,860.
A decade after enrolling, the median John Carroll University student earns $62,860 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 79% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $26,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 79% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 81% puts John Carroll University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool runs to 4,623, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 16%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 13% 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 | 600–660 | 75 (13%) |
| SAT Math | 580–670 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–32 | 84 (14%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at John Carroll University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 79% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 83% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 13:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. 2,287 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,275 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $30,030 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $19,945 at $0–30k versus $34,240 at $110k+. Most students get help: 97% receive grants worth $33,518 on average. 55% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 555 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 | $19,945 |
| $30–48k | $19,485 |
| $48–75k | $24,900 |
| $75–110k | $29,477 |
| $110k+ | $34,240 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,250 of these 2,275 students, totalling $8,012,293 — an average of $6,410 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cuyahoga 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)