A parent's read

  • The 4× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$52,643/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 ~$25,942/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.

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Odds at Point Park University

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Most families report the weighted one — it's the higher number, with honors and AP credit in it.

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Live odds from each college's own published admissions data.

Parent/student verdict

Accessible

Accessible for most applicants.

Best for

  • Students focused on Visual & Performing Arts (the school's signature program)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

The reality

  • You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: SAT below 1035, or ACT below 19 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)

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?

Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Undergraduates
2,331
1,000 - 4,999 including graduate students
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid at a given college pay this, minus any merit scholarships — whether you qualify depends on the college's price and policies, not on any fixed income line.
$39,570
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split) · 2023–24 federal figure
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.
97.9%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1035–1240
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
19–27
composite
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.
$45,856
median, after entry

24% 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).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$36,906
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.
$45,856
Graduate within 6 yrsThe share of students who start here and finish a bachelor's within six years — the standard federal measure, and the one College Scorecard publishes. It is not a four-year rate. Read it as the odds of finishing at all: nationally about a third of students who start never do, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision.
59%
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."
$27,000

The real cost

What Point Park University actually costs

If you qualify for need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats.
$25,942/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$52,643/yr
the full published price

Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Point Park University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.

Get your family's number — Point Park University's Net Price Calculator ↗ 10–15 minutes; have a tax return handy. It's still an estimate — but it's this college's own, built from your family's numbers, not anyone's average.
Start your Family Decision Report →

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

+$248K ahead at full price +$355K 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)
$210,572
~$52,643/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$103,768
$25,942/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$458,560
$45,856/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
4.6 yrs
at full price (2.3 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: 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 Point Park University

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

1. Visual & Performing Arts
186 degrees · 46.3%
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
105 degrees · 26.1%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Communication, Journalism, & Related
52 degrees · 12.9%
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.
4. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
34 degrees · 8.5%
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.
5. Education
25 degrees · 6.2%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.

What those majors earn here

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

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 14 $74,639
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. Bachelor's Degree 12 $32,495 $55,545
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 41 $41,910 $53,332
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication. Bachelor's Degree 21 $17,479 $49,951
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 24 $33,542 $47,830
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Other. Bachelor's Degree 53 $24,948 $47,669
Journalism. Bachelor's Degree 12 $34,887 $45,859
Film/Video and Photographic Arts. Bachelor's Degree 43 $41,751
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Bachelor's Degree 85 $23,147 $40,121
Dance. Bachelor's Degree 78 $17,781 $37,205

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.

Top-1% access
0.8%
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.
1.5%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
17.6%
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.
39%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

AI program signal

AI + computing education at Point Park University

CS degrees (annual)
5
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Point Park 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 in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 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.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $43,475 less before aid for NY residents
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $40,806 less before aid for IN residents
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $38,687 less before aid for GA residents
More students move up here
Per Opportunity Insights, a larger share of these campuses' lower-income students reach the top earnings quintile than at Point Park University. That reflects who they admit as well as what they do, so read it as a destination signal rather than proof of value added.
CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
NY · Public
12.9% mobility rate (vs 1.5% here)
CUNY Lehman College
NY · Public
10.2% mobility rate (vs 1.5% here)
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
NY · Public
9.7% mobility rate (vs 1.5% here)

Or compare any college side-by-side

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Feeder high schools

Which high schools send graduates to Point Park University?

Enrolled — from the schools' matriculation lists

3 high schools publish a numbered matriculation list — where their graduates actually enrolled, counted, in the school's own School Profile — and name Point Park University on it. Between them they printed 4 enrolled graduates. Ranked by graduates per class year enrolling at Point Park 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.

High school · years its list covers Enrolled per class year
York Country Day School · The Classes of 2015-2024 0.2 · 2 over 10 class years
Ellis School · 2019–2023 0.2 · 1 over 5 class years
Saddle River Day School · 2020-2024 0.2 · 1 over 5 class years

Admitted — from the schools' acceptance lists

4 high schools publish a numbered list of college acceptances — where their graduates were admitted, not where they enrolled — and name Point Park University on it. Between them they printed 4 admissions. Ranked by admissions per class year to Point Park 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.

High school · years its list covers Admitted per class year
Archbishop Mitty High School · Class of 2025 1.0 · 1 over 1 class year
Canterbury School-Fort Myers · Class of 2026 1.0 · 1 over 1 class year
Professional Childrens School · Class of 2026 1.0 · 1 over 1 class year
Key School · 2021 - 2026 · counted column: Acceptances 2021–2026 0.2 · 1 over 6 class years

All 7 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.

For Parents

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Point Park University is a private nonprofit four-year college in PA. It admitted 98% of applicants (5,291 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: SAT 1035–1240, ACT 19–27. 24% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, 7% an ACT — these ranges describe students who submitted, not the whole class.

Cost: about $25,942 a year on average with aid, $52,643 a year at full price.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $45,856 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $354,792 ahead with aid, $247,988 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Accounting and Related Services ($74,639); Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication ($55,545); Business Administration, Management and Operations ($53,332).

Economic mobility (Opportunity Insights): 9% of students came from families in the bottom fifth of income, and 18% of those reached the top fifth as adults.

High schools that publish a numbered matriculation list and name Point Park University: 3, 4 enrolled students between them — ranked by graduates per class year, most often York Country Day School (0.2 per class year, 2 over 10 class years, The Classes of 2015-2024); Ellis School (0.2 per class year, 1 over 5 class years, 2019–2023); Saddle River Day School (0.2 per class year, 1 over 5 class years, 2020-2024). 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/point-park-university.

High schools that publish a numbered list of college acceptances naming Point Park University: 4, 4 admissions between them — ranked by admissions per class year, most often Archbishop Mitty High School (1.0 per class year, 1 over 1 class year, Class of 2025); Canterbury School-Fort Myers (1.0 per class year, 1 over 1 class year, Class of 2026); Professional Childrens School (1.0 per class year, 1 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/point-park-university.

Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/point-park-university.json

By major: AccountingBusiness AdministrationCommunicationCriminal Justice and CriminologyEnglishFilm and TelevisionJournalismLiberal Studies (teacher preparation)Theatre
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