🎓 College profile
Liberty University
VA · Private nonprofit · Small city · 36,921 applicants 2023
🧭 A parent's read
- The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Air Transportation grads from here earn about $102,096 four years out; apparel and textiles grads about $38,226 — a 2.7× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
- The 4× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$42,025/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$29,357/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~4× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
- Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.
Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.
🎯 Parent/student verdict
LikelyAccessible for most applicants.
✅ Best for
- Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (the two biggest majors)
- Students who thrive in a large, programmatic environment
Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
🏛️ Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.
📊 Outcomes & cost
What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.
Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).
💰 The real cost
What families at your income actually pay
Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $30,545/yr at Liberty University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$42,025/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.
🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.
Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.
Start your Family Decision Report →Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Liberty University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).
📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways
2.7× at full price 3.8× with aidSource: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.
📚 What students study here
Most popular majors at Liberty University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Liberty University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
💼 What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Liberty University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Air Transportation. | $102,096 |
| Industrial Engineering. | $94,928 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | $89,244 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | $89,129 |
| Management Information Systems and Services. | $84,228 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. | $82,883 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | $82,116 |
| Mathematics. | $81,095 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | $71,436 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | $67,269 |
Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →
🤖 AI program signal
AI + computing education at Liberty University
Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →
Alternatives to Liberty University
Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.
⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side
Deciding on Liberty University?
Get the full picture in one free report — your child's Reach / Match / Likely odds and your real net price, for Liberty University and every other college on your list.
Get your child's odds at Liberty University →Score-odds calculator · Improve the score first · Find merit aid
For Parents
Get alerts when Liberty University's numbers change
New admit rates, costs, and outcomes — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.
Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.