Soka University
of America
Private College in Aliso Viejo, CA. Six-year graduation rate 92%. Median 10-year earnings $55,017.
Ten years after entry, the median Soka University of America student earns $55,017 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate of 92% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $15,650.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 92% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Soka University of America admits 43% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in five applicants are turned away. The applicant pool is small at 634, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. A 46% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through. The score bands below rest on the 16% 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 | 620–720 | 20 (16%) |
| SAT Math | 713–790 | |
| ACT Composite | — | 1 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Soka University of America →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 92% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 90%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. At 7:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. The undergraduate body is just 465, 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 465 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $15,691 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,020 while those at $110k+ pay $30,940. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $39,874 on average. About 37% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 126 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 | $12,020 |
| $30–48k | $10,619 |
| $48–75k | $12,049 |
| $75–110k | $12,724 |
| $110k+ | $30,940 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 173 of these 465 students, totalling $1,062,949 — an average of $6,144 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orange 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)