College ROI

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University of Portland

Portland, OR 2,957 Undergrads 79.7% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$73,224
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$28,210
After Aid
Median Earnings
$80,459
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$28,210
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$80,459
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$82,804
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate79.7%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Average Starting Age20.0
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients20.4%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time98.6%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS84.0%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
89.2%
SAT Avg
1,277
SAT Reading
25th: 58064375th: 670
SAT Math
25th: 58062075th: 700
ACT Composite
25th: 252975th: 31

ROI Sensitivity Analysis
Assuming 4 Years to Graduation

This analysis tests three cost scenarios (Scholarship, Average Net Price, Full Sticker Price) to show how college costs impact your long-term return compared to the average student and a high school graduate.

Lifetime Value Added (NPV)

Institution Lifetime NPV
Vs Median Peer
Vs HS Grad
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
+$694k
+$227k
+$209k
Median Cost$28k/yr
+$592k
+$125k
+$108k
Full Cost$73k/yr
+$430k
-$37k
-$54k

ROI Efficiency Metrics

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
28
∞
Median Cost$28k/yr
37
106%
Full Cost$73k/yr
Never
-21%
Analysis Assumptions:
  • Starting Salary: Estimated from the 4-year post-graduation median earnings (assuming 2% annual growth from graduation).
  • Comparisons: "Vs Median Peer" compares to the median student nationwide in a similar level program. "Vs HS Grad" compares to a median high school graduate.
  • Break-Even: The age at which the college investment net income exceeds the median high school graduate's lifetime earnings.
  • NPV: Net Present Value of all future earnings minus costs and taxes, discounted at 7.8%.

Social Impact ROINew

Measures the societal return on a donor's investment. Calculated as the incremental pre-tax lifetime earnings vs. HS grad, divided by the tax-adjusted donation cost.

Donor Return52%

Gov. Pell Grant ROINew

Measures the government's return on Pell Grants via increased tax revenue. Calculated as the portion of incremental lifetime taxes (discounted at 5.4%) attributed to the Pell Grant investment.

Taxpayer Return-49%
Important Note: Your ROI with any major will depend on the cost you pay to attend the program, and your starting salary. Both vary significantly across institutions. We encourage you to explore the ROI of a specific program variant by selecting the Program title of the credential level you are interested in. You will then have a more detailed return analysis for programs at specific institutions. We also encourage you to use the ROI calculator, or for more sophisticated analysis, the Guided ROI Interview, with your specific estimates of cost and salary.

Program ROI Analysis

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
$24,020
Earnings (4yr)
$95,686
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$224k
Applied Mathematics
BachCIP: 2703
Median Debt
$20,810
Earnings (4yr)
$77,908
Natl Median: $91,532
Lifetime Value Added
+$88k
Area Studies
BachCIP: 0501
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$72,228
Natl Median: $56,625
Lifetime Value Added
+$34k
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$22,548
Earnings (4yr)
$58,051
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$66k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
$22,900
Earnings (2yr)
$32,925
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
-$267k
Civil Engineering
BachCIP: 1408
Median Debt
$23,250
Earnings (4yr)
$89,448
Natl Median: $86,517
Lifetime Value Added
+$177k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$50,011
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$140k
Computer Science
BachCIP: 1107
Median Debt
$22,590
Earnings (4yr)
$125,929
Natl Median: $107,009
Lifetime Value Added
+$454k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$20,875
Earnings (4yr)
$105,859
Natl Median: $100,647
Lifetime Value Added
+$302k
Median Debt
$19,987
Earnings (4yr)
$49,434
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$137k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $61,027
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$95,949
Natl Median: $76,433
Lifetime Value Added
+$212k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$53,002
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$107k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$37,779
Natl Median: $73,201
Lifetime Value Added
-$223k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,072
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$24,000
Earnings (4yr)
$84,313
Natl Median: $86,176
Lifetime Value Added
+$137k
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$22,696
Earnings (4yr)
$72,891
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
+$50k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$78,568
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
+$93k
Median Debt
$23,681
Earnings (4yr)
$93,119
Natl Median: $92,135
Lifetime Value Added
+$205k
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,375
Earnings (4yr)
$54,975
Natl Median: $55,012
Lifetime Value Added
-$91k
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,455
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Physics
BachCIP: 4008
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $76,786
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$24,250
Earnings (5yr)
$58,509
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$22,194
Earnings (4yr)
$50,579
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$127k
Median Debt
$17,509
Earnings (4yr)
$62,264
Natl Median: $63,560
Lifetime Value Added
-$32k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$103,823
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$286k
Median Debt
$22,994
Earnings (4yr)
$53,853
Natl Median: $55,000
Lifetime Value Added
-$100k
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$57,253
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$72k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$36,134
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$238k
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$53,963
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$99k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,535
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Master's Degrees

Applied Mathematics
MastCIP: 2703
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $116,060
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $106,375
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$44,281
Earnings (4yr)
$100,242
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
+$191k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,953
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Education, General
MastCIP: 1301
Median Debt
$37,405
Earnings (4yr)
$62,075
Natl Median: $65,824
Lifetime Value Added
-$145k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,685
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $120,215
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $124,807
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $53,024
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $80,125
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,767
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Graduate Certificates

Education, General
Gr-CertCIP: 1301
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,448
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $86,288
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,147
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $71,178
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Doctoral Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$97,064
Natl Median: $100,573
Lifetime Value Added
-$29k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (5yr)
$123,134
Natl Median: $138,131
Lifetime Value Added
+$146k

Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate (for undergraduate programs) or a median bachelor's degree holder (for graduate programs), accounting for this institution's average cost and taxes. Computed over a career to retirement age.

For graduate programs (Master's, Doctoral, etc.), the calculation assumes a starting age of 22 (after undergraduate completion) and does not include the sunk costs of prior degrees. It represents the value added of the graduate decision moving forward. Note that the institution's average undergraduate net price is used as a proxy for annual cost, which may differ from actual graduate tuition. These Lifetime Value Added results for graduate degrees should not be compared with those for Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors.

Completers Only: Federal median earnings data strictly reflects outcomes for students who successfully graduated. Students who do not complete their degree typically earn significantly less and face higher risks of debt default.