Tulane University
of Louisiana
Private Research University in New Orleans, LA. Six-year graduation rate 86%. Median 10-year earnings $63,268.
A decade after enrolling, the median Tulane University of Louisiana student earns $63,268 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 86% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $20,500, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 86% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 14% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
Tulane University of Louisiana admits just 14% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. 32,609 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield is high — 40% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. 13% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 700–750 | 230 (13%) |
| SAT Math | 700–770 | |
| ACT Composite | 31–34 | 506 (28%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Tulane University of Louisiana →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 86% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 93%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The 7:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. 8,077 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,759 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $47,427 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. The income table below is the number that matters — $16,126 at $0–30k versus $56,667 at $110k+. 61% of students receive grant aid, averaging $36,195 — common but not automatic. 22% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 1,867 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 | $16,126 |
| $30–48k | $18,041 |
| $48–75k | $20,149 |
| $75–110k | $28,207 |
| $110k+ | $56,667 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,688 of these 7,759 students, totalling $10,319,698 — an average of $6,114 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Orleans Parish) — 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)