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Public College

University of
Puerto Rico-Arecibo

Public College in Arecibo, PR. Six-year graduation rate 54%. Median 10-year earnings $30,512.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$30,512
Median debt at grad
$4,500
Graduation rate
54%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo reach a median of $30,512 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate is 54%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $4,500.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Debt-to-income ratio 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
59%
Applicants
1,416
Yield rate
77.2%

Selectivity is real here: only 59% of applicants are offered a place. The applicant pool is small at 1,416, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. A 77% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through.

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 University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo →

Academics

Full-time retention
76%
Transfer-out rate
4%
Student:faculty
19:1

54% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The student-faculty ratio is 19:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$10,356
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
94%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
3%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,783 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay an average of $10,356 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Income makes less difference than usual: $10,332 at $0–30k, $12,960 at $75–110k. 94% of students get grant aid averaging $6,732, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Only 3% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.

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.

% receiving grants
89%
Average grant
$7,354

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 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 $10,332
$30–48k $11,033
$48–75k $12,065
$75–110k $12,960
$110k+

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 93 of these 2,783 students, totalling $434,375 — an average of $4,671 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Arecibo Municipio) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$437/mo
1 bedroom
$440/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$510/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
73
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo with peer institutions

How we evaluate University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →