Naropa University
Private College in Boulder, CO. Six-year graduation rate 37%. Median 10-year earnings $28,720.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $28,720, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Only 37% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $24,712 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.86 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Naropa University admits 100% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. Only 66 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 27% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Naropa University →Academics
Completion is the problem here: 37% graduate within six years. 54% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 368 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $27,873 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $21,457 at $0–30k versus $46,397 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 85% of students receive it, averaging $21,187. Federal borrowing reaches 54% 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.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 24 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 | $21,457 |
| $30–48k | $33,397 |
| $48–75k | $21,817 |
| $75–110k | $45,897 |
| $110k+ | $46,397 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 200 of these 368 students, totalling $2,119,517 — an average of $10,598 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Boulder County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Compliance Audit Late or Missing); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)