🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

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
Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
Total enrollment
1,298
1,000 - 4,999
In-state tuition
$30,198
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$30,198
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
44.8%
Moderately selective
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$49,520
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
$43,572
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$49,520
4-year completion
54%
Median debt (completers)
$20,776
Cost of attendance
$46,129
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
21%

💰 True ROI

5.0× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$99,440
$24,860/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$85,076
vs sticker $184,516
10-yr earnings total
$495,200
$49,520/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
2.0 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Ave Maria University, the average net price is $24,860/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$18,761/yr
Family income $30-48k
$20,840/yr
Family income $48-75k
$23,790/yr
Family income $75-110k
$24,088/yr
Family income $110k+
$27,107/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Ave Maria University's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Ave Maria University →

Opens on Ave Maria University's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Ave Maria University

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
66 degrees · 35.7%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
44 degrees · 23.8%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
29 degrees · 15.7%
Typical career outcomes
Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
4. Communication, Journalism, & Related
26 degrees · 14.1%
Typical career outcomes
Public Relations Specialist $67k Marketing Manager $158k Writer / Editor $75k Reporter / Journalist $58k
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.
5. Psychology
20 degrees · 10.8%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Ave Maria University

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 14 $71,237
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. Bachelor's Degree 8 $67,139
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 27 $63,839
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 25 $30,640 $49,235
Theological and Ministerial Studies. Bachelor's Degree 25 $26,924 $42,457

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Ave Maria University vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

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