University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Public Research University in Chapel Hill, NC. Six-year graduation rate 91%. Median 10-year earnings $72,200.
A decade after enrolling, the median University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student earns $72,200 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. Completion is a strength: 91% of students finish within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $14,000 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.19 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 91% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 15% of applicants receive an offer. With 66,535 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is high — 46% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. The score bands below rest on the 28% 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 | 690–750 | 1,320 (28%) |
| SAT Math | 700–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–34 | 1,896 (41%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill →Academics
91% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 97%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a public four-year university, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate body runs to 20,681, large enough that student experience varies widely by program.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 20,556 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $10,154 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $2,004 at the $0–30k band to $24,396 at $110k+. About 51% get grants averaging $16,504, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 13% 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 · 4,688 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 | $2,004 |
| $30–48k | $3,918 |
| $48–75k | $8,538 |
| $75–110k | $16,415 |
| $110k+ | $24,396 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,700 of these 20,556 students, totalling $13,489,492 — an average of $4,996 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)