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🎓 College profile

Northern Arizona University

AZ · Public · Small city · 37,805 applicants 2023

R2 Research
91% admit rate $20,686/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Computer Science grads from here earn about $99,067 four years out; anthropology grads about $39,597 — a 2.5× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$29,933/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$54,384/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • 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 Northern Arizona University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Northern Arizona University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$14,158/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$13,009 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: unweighted GPA below 3.50 (admitted-class quartiles per the school's own data)

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
22,903
20,000 and above
In-state 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.
$13,009
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$29,881
+$16,872 vs in-state
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.
90.9%
Accepts the majority
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.
$54,384
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.

🎓 High-school GPA

3.70 avg unweightedGPA on the plain 4.0 scale, no honors/AP bonus. When a college publishes an "average admitted GPA of 3.9," it's often this scale — don't compare it to a weighted 4.3. GPA, enrolled first-years

unweighted 4.0 scale. Common Data Set 2024-2025 ↗

As published by the college in its Common Data Set / admissions data (2024-25) — independently verified 2026-07-23 (source linked above). GPA basis (weighted vs. unweighted vs. 4.0-scale) varies by college and is labeled above.

📊 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
$47,308
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.
$54,384
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.
61%
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."
$19,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $20,686/yr at Northern Arizona University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$29,933/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 Northern Arizona University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$20,686/yr
Family income $75-110k
$18,050/yr
Family income $48-75k
$13,330/yr
Family income $30-48k
$10,398/yr
Family income $0-30k
$9,709/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

4.5× at full price 9.6× 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, in-state)
$119,732
~$29,933/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$56,632
$14,158/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$543,840
$54,384/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.2 yrs
at full price (1.0 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, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Northern Arizona University

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
763 degrees · 26.5%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
759 degrees · 26.4%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Education
476 degrees · 16.6%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
449 degrees · 15.6%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
5. Psychology
428 degrees · 14.9%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

💼 What those majors earn here

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

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 119 $74,815 $99,067
Construction Management. Bachelor's Degree 67 $76,708 $99,015
Computer Systems Analysis. Bachelor's Degree — $60,524 $97,511
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 29 $71,370 $95,388
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 123 $63,252 $91,941
Civil Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 52 $66,589 $88,184
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 462 $76,782 $84,996
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 74 $51,506 $81,144
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 30 $62,936 $78,955
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 151 $53,962 $77,855

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 Northern Arizona University

CS degrees (annual)
149
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Northern Arizona 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.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
AL · Public
17 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Louisville
KY · Public
13 stats-based + 6 competitive 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.
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $18,096 less before aid
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
$14,110/yr full price (in-state) · $15,823 less before aid
Gordon State College
GA · Public
$14,771/yr full price (in-state) · $15,162 less before aid

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