University of Denver
Private Research University in Denver, CO. Six-year graduation rate 76%. Median 10-year earnings $71,155.
Ten-year median earnings of $71,155 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 76% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,844, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 76% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
78% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is large — 18,786 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Only 9% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 20% 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 | 640–710 | 270 (20%) |
| SAT Math | 600–700 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–33 | 170 (13%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Denver →Academics
A 76% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 89%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 65% return, against 89% full-time. At 9:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,059 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $45,451 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $20,097 while those at $110k+ pay $47,222. 96% of students get grant aid averaging $34,254, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 30% 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 · 1,438 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 | $20,097 |
| $30–48k | $16,211 |
| $48–75k | $22,940 |
| $75–110k | $31,759 |
| $110k+ | $47,222 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,790 of these 6,059 students, totalling $11,165,728 — an average of $6,238 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Denver 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)