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Private Research University

Villanova University

Private Research University in Villanova, PA. Six-year graduation rate 92%. Median 10-year earnings $100,423.

Verdict High-return
Villanova University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$100,423
Median debt at grad
$25,874
Mobility score
1.3
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
91.9%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten-year median earnings of $100,423 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. Completion is a strength: 92% of students finish within six years. Graduates carry a median of $25,874 in debt — in line with the national norm.

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 0.26 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
  • Graduation rate 92% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
27%
Applicants
23,256
Yield rate
27.7%

Villanova University admits 27% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in four applicants are turned away. 23,256 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 28% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 19% 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 685–740 323 (19%)
SAT Math 710–770
ACT Composite 32–34 164 (9%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Villanova University →

Academics

Full-time retention
95%
Transfer-out rate
7%
Student:faculty
10:1

A 92% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 95% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 77% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$37,201
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
53%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
35%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,011 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price averages $37,201 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $17,823 at the $0–30k band to $58,741 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 53% of students at an average of $43,959. Federal borrowing reaches 35% of students.

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
48%
Average grant
$47,609

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,699 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 $17,823
$30–48k $16,496
$48–75k $20,923
$75–110k $33,389
$110k+ $58,741

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 2,472 of these 7,011 students, totalling $16,656,741 — an average of $6,738 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

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

Studio
$1,397/mo
1 bedroom
$1,520/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,810/mo

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

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
551
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Villanova University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Villanova University

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