University of
Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras
Public Research University in San Juan, PR. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $35,723.
Ten-year median earnings of $35,723 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Graduates leave owing a median of $5,500 — 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 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras admits 55% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly one in two applicants are turned away. The applicant pool runs to 4,799, typical for a school of this reach. 71% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards.
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-Rio Piedras →Academics
Completion is middling: 50% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 77% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 10% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. At 11:1, 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 8,748 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $8,350 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($8,018 versus $13,018), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 78% of students receive grant aid, averaging $6,628 — common but not automatic. 5% 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 · 1,814 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 | $8,018 |
| $30–48k | $8,553 |
| $48–75k | $11,002 |
| $75–110k | $11,925 |
| $110k+ | $13,018 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 420 of these 8,748 students, totalling $1,945,198 — an average of $4,631 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Juan Municipio) — 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)