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🎓 College profile

Loyola Marymount University

CA · Private nonprofit · Large city · 23,361 applicants 2023

R2 Research
40% admit rate $58,371/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer and Information Sciences grads from here earn about $127,011 four years out; drama grads about $49,135 — a 2.6× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
  • The campus itself adds earnings power. Opportunity Insights tracks it: only about 5% of students arrive from the bottom income fifth, but those who do reach the top fifth by their 30s at a 46% rate — a strong sign the outcomes here are the campus, not just the intake.
  • The 4× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$83,943/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$48,381/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.

Get your child's odds at Loyola Marymount University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Loyola Marymount University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students. A significant upfront investment that pays back via strong 10-yr earnings (~$78,349).

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Visual & Performing Arts (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)
  • A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — median 10-yr earnings of $78,349 return ~2.3× the ~$83,943/yr sticker over a decade (aid recipients average ~$48,381/yr)

🎯 The reality

  • High cost — aid-receiving families above $110K income still average ~$58,371/yr net, and without need aid the full price is ~$83,943/yr — verify the major's earnings track record before committing

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?

Carnegie classification
R2: Doctoral - High Research Activity
Total enrollment
7,094
10,000 - 19,999
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$62,357
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
40.3%
Moderately selective
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$78,349
median, after entry

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).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$62,763
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$78,349
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
79%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$19,500

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $58,371/yr at Loyola Marymount University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$83,943/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 Loyola Marymount University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$58,371/yr
Family income $75-110k
$40,557/yr
Family income $48-75k
$34,351/yr
Family income $30-48k
$34,535/yr
Family income $0-30k
$32,268/yr

📈 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

2.3× at full price 4.0× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs)
$335,772
~$83,943/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$193,524
$48,381/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$783,490
$78,349/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
4.3 yrs
at full price (2.5 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: 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 Loyola Marymount University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Loyola Marymount University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
439 degrees · 35.5%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Visual & Performing Arts
298 degrees · 24.1%
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
3. Social Sciences
209 degrees · 16.9%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
4. Psychology
149 degrees · 12.0%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Communication, Journalism, & Related
143 degrees · 11.6%
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Loyola Marymount University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 52 $79,763 $127,011
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 35 $70,960 $111,733
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 115 $70,542 $109,303
Civil Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 27 $87,790 $103,223
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 30 $60,798 $96,226
Economics. Bachelor's Degree 79 $53,206 $88,682
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 154 $48,281 $82,825
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 41 $43,152 $82,543
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 57 $22,638 $80,317
Graphic Communications. Bachelor's Degree 14 — $76,522

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 →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
8.6%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
2.5%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
45.9%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
13%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Loyola Marymount University

CS degrees (annual)
54
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Loyola Marymount University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
Auburn University
AL · Public
3 stats-based merit scholarships
Tuskegee University
AL · Private nonprofit
3 stats-based merit scholarships
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
TN · Public
2 stats-based merit scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
$14,170/yr full price (in-state) · $69,773 less before aid
Texas A & M International University
TX · Public
$15,558/yr full price (in-state) · $68,385 less before aid
North Carolina A & T State University
NC · Public
$20,427/yr full price (in-state) · $63,516 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of California-Santa Cruz
CA · Public
62% admit rate (vs 40% here)
University of California-Riverside
CA · Public
63% admit rate (vs 40% here)
California State Polytechnic University-Pomona
CA · Public
74% admit rate (vs 40% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Loyola Marymount University does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
12.9% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
Stony Brook University
NY · Public
8.4% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)
Texas A & M International University
TX · Public
8.1% mobility rate (vs 2.5% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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