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Private Research University

Marquette University

Private Research University in Milwaukee, WI. Six-year graduation rate 83%. Median 10-year earnings $78,257.

Verdict Solid outcomes
Marquette University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$78,257
Median debt at grad
$23,940
Mobility score
1.1
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
83.2%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten-year median earnings of $78,257 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 83% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $23,940 in debt — in line with the national norm.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • Graduation rate 83% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
81%
Applicants
18,701
Yield rate
14.1%

An acceptance rate of 81% puts Marquette University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 18,701 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. A 14% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 14% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.

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 610–680 292 (14%)
SAT Math 590–680
ACT Composite 26–31 549 (26%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Marquette University →

Academics

Full-time retention
91%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
14:1

Six-year completion runs to 83% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 91% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The 14:1 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. The undergraduate population is 7,649 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$34,322
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
98%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
41%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,236 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price averages $34,322 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $22,269 while those at $110k+ pay $36,813. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $29,926. Federal borrowing reaches 41% 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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$32,996

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,882 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 $22,269
$30–48k $18,916
$48–75k $27,378
$75–110k $32,374
$110k+ $36,813

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 2,936 of these 7,236 students, totalling $19,190,935 — an average of $6,536 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Milwaukee County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,027/mo
1 bedroom
$1,119/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,338/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
170
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Marquette University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Marquette University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →