Saint Augustine's University
Private College in Raleigh, NC. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $35,730.
Ten-year median earnings of $35,730 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 25% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Debt is the pressure point: a median of $29,669 at graduation.
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 0.83 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average
Admissions
Saint Augustine's University admits 34% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly two in three applicants are turned away. The applicant pool runs to 2,059, typical for a school of this reach. Only 3% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 Saint Augustine's University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 25% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 0% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. The undergraduate body is just 930, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 766 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,688 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $27,815 at $0–30k, $21,944 at $110k+. Most students get help: 88% receive grants worth $14,093 on average. 45% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 152 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 | $27,815 |
| $30–48k | $20,801 |
| $48–75k | $23,499 |
| $75–110k | $19,943 |
| $110k+ | $21,944 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 345 of these 766 students, totalling $1,997,095 — an average of $5,789 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Wake County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026