College profile
Pepperdine University
CA · Private nonprofit · Large suburb · 12,457 applicants 2023
A parent's read
- Top feeder high schools: Mira Costa High School (4), Loyola High School (3.2), Orange County School of the Arts (3), Prestonwood Christian Academy (3), Viewpoint School (2). Graduates per class year, from each high school's own published list. 60 high schools' lists name Pepperdine University; every one is ranked below.
- The 4× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$93,512/yr. There's no income cutoff for need-based aid — whether you qualify depends on the gap between a school's price and your family's finances, so at a price like this even six-figure incomes often show need. Families who receive aid average ~$58,098/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.
Feeder high schools
Which high schools send graduates to Pepperdine University?
The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Pepperdine University, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (4), Loyola High School (3.2), Orange County School of the Arts (3), Prestonwood Christian Academy (3), Viewpoint School (2). 60 high schools' lists name Pepperdine University.
Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists
All 60 schools, with the class years each list covers
Published, but not ranked — these schools name Pepperdine University on a list of where their graduates enrolled whose class years we cannot read ("Since 2023", or no class year printed), so their totals are shown rather than divided: Yorba Linda High School (3, not stated).
How this is counted
60 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name Pepperdine University on it. Between them they printed 122 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at Pepperdine University, from each school's own published list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, so a one-year list and a five-year list can sit on the same page. A list whose class years we cannot read is not divided by a guess — it is listed below with its total instead.
Is my high school on this list?
Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists
All 14 schools, with the class years each list covers
How this is counted
14 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name Pepperdine University on it. Between them they printed 136 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to Pepperdine University, from each school's own published acceptances list: the number that school printed, divided by the class years its list covers. Admits are counted at each college a student was admitted to, the same way the UC Reach Score counts a student admitted to three UC campuses three times — so this is a count of admissions, not of students. The published total and the school's own years label are shown beside every school, and a list whose class years we cannot read is listed below with its total rather than divided by a guess.
All 71 feeder schools, ranked →
Counted from each school's own published document, linked on that school's page. A high school that is not here does not publish a numbered list we could read — that is all absence means, and it says nothing about its graduates. Where a school publishes both, the two lists are shown separately: an acceptances list is not a list of enrollments, and the two are never added together.
Parent/student verdict
Moderately selectiveSolid match for academically prepared students. A significant upfront investment that pays back via strong 10-yr earnings (~$82,939).
Best for
- Strong academic profiles — students here cluster in the top test and GPA tiers (bands above)
- Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Communication, Journalism, & Related (the two biggest majors)
- Families wanting a small undergraduate experience
- A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — ten years at the $82,939 median runs about $455K ahead of four years at the ~$93,512/yr sticker (aid recipients average ~$58,098/yr)
The reality
- You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1250, or ACT below 26, or unweighted GPA below ~3.80 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)
- High cost — full price is ~$93,512/yr without aid, and aid-receiving families still average ~$58,098/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 with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.
What are your child's odds here?
Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.
Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.
Institutional snapshot
What kind of college is this?
14% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 7% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
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 Pepperdine University actually costs
Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Pepperdine University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.
Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.
The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways
+$455K ahead at full price +$597K with aidSource: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. 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 Pepperdine University
Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Pepperdine University actually graduates — not just what it markets.
What those majors earn here
Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Pepperdine University's own graduates, not national averages.
| Major (CIP) | 4-yr earnings |
|---|---|
| Economics. | $104,943 |
| International Business. | $100,595 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | $91,227 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. | $81,417 |
| Political Science and Government. | $75,954 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. | $65,100 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | $62,495 |
| Psychology, General. | $61,353 |
| Journalism. | $58,801 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. | $55,432 |
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. It measures two things at once: how many lower-income students a college enrols, and how many of them reach the top earnings quintile later. A high rate says the college does both — it does not establish that the campus caused the earnings, because the students it admits differ from the students it doesn't. Read it as a signal about access and destination, not as proof of value added.
Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →
Alternatives to Pepperdine 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 Pepperdine University?
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Get your child's odds at Pepperdine University →Score-odds calculator · Improve the score first · Find merit aid
Related reading
Majors and pay · October 2026
States · October 2026
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At a glance
JSON · Using this page with an AI assistantPepperdine University is a private nonprofit four-year college in CA. It admitted 50% of applicants (12,457 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1250–1450, ACT 26–32. 14% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 7% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
Cost: about $58,098 a year on average with aid, $93,512 a year at full price.
Median earnings ten years after entry: $82,939 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $596,998 ahead with aid, $455,342 ahead at full price.
Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Economics ($104,943); International Business ($100,595); Business Administration, Management and Operations ($91,227).
Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 4% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 43% of those reached the top fifth as adults.
High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name Pepperdine University: 60, 122 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often Mira Costa High School (4.0 per class year, 4 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Loyola High School (3.2 per class year, 16 over 5 class years, 2020-24); Orange County School of the Arts (3.0 per class year, 3 over 1 class year, Class of 2026). Each figure is the number that school printed divided by the class years its own list covers; the totals and years are shown. These are the schools that publish such a list, not every school that sends students; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/pepperdine-university.
High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming Pepperdine University: 14, 136 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Chaminade College Preparatory (34.0 per class year, 34 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Yorba Linda High School (25.0 per class year, 25 over 1 class year, Class of 2026, counted column "STUDENTS ACCEPTED"); Archbishop Mitty High School (19.0 per class year, 19 over 1 class year, Class of 2026). Admits are counted at each college, so this counts admissions, not students. These are a different set of documents from the matriculation lists above and the two are never added together; full list: https://highschoolreach.com/leaderboards/feeder-schools/pepperdine-university.
Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/pepperdine-university.json
Questions families ask
What is Pepperdine University's acceptance rate? Pepperdine University is a private nonprofit four-year college in CA. It admitted 50% of applicants (12,457 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
Does Pepperdine University require the SAT or ACT? Pepperdine University is a private nonprofit four-year college in CA. It admitted 50% of applicants (12,457 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.
What SAT or ACT scores do Pepperdine University students have? Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1250–1450, ACT 26–32. 14% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 7% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.
How much does Pepperdine University cost? Cost: about $58,098 a year on average with aid, $93,512 a year at full price.
What do Pepperdine University graduates earn? Median earnings ten years after entry: $82,939 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $596,998 ahead with aid, $455,342 ahead at full price.
Which majors at Pepperdine University pay the most? Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Economics ($104,943); International Business ($100,595); Business Administration, Management and Operations ($91,227).
Which high schools send the most graduates to Pepperdine University? The high schools sending the most graduates per class year to Pepperdine University, from each school's own published list: Mira Costa High School (4), Loyola High School (3.2), Orange County School of the Arts (3), Prestonwood Christian Academy (3), Viewpoint School (2). 60 high schools' lists name Pepperdine University.
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Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.