🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Personal & Culinary Services (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 970, or ACT below 20 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

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
M1: Master's - Larger Programs
Total enrollment
3,868
1,000 - 4,999
In-state tuition
$42,419
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$42,419
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
83.7%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%
970–1230
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%
20–26
composite
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$43,418
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
$35,802
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$43,418
4-year completion
55%
Median debt (completers)
$26,000
Cost of attendance
$60,314
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
30%

💰 True ROI

3.5× 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)
$124,108
$31,027/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$117,148
vs sticker $241,256
10-yr earnings total
$434,180
$43,418/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
2.9 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 Johnson & Wales University-Providence, the average net price is $31,027/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$25,530/yr
Family income $30-48k
$25,443/yr
Family income $48-75k
$28,088/yr
Family income $75-110k
$31,803/yr
Family income $110k+
$35,464/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 Johnson & Wales University-Providence's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Johnson & Wales University-Providence →

Opens on Johnson & Wales University-Providence'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 Johnson & Wales University-Providence

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
207 degrees · 34.0%
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. Personal & Culinary Services
168 degrees · 27.6%
3. Family & Consumer Sciences
89 degrees · 14.6%
Typical career outcomes
Dietitian / Nutritionist $70k Social / Community Service Mgr $77k Hospitality Manager $65k
Nutrition, dietetics, child & family services, hospitality.
4. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
85 degrees · 14.0%
Typical career outcomes
Police Officer $72k Federal Special Agent $102k Detective / Investigator $91k
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.
5. Computer & Information Sciences
59 degrees · 9.7%
Typical career outcomes
Software Developer $132k Data Scientist $108k Information Security Analyst $120k Web Developer $85k
High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.

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 Johnson & Wales University-Providence

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
Computer Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 3 $62,056 $95,371
Computer Systems Networking and Telecommunications. Bachelor's Degree 3 $85,387
Human Resources Management and Services. Bachelor's Degree 8 $46,645 $79,056
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication. Bachelor's Degree 13 $49,033 $77,025
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 15 $45,450 $73,476
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 15 $53,555 $73,152
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 20 $41,544 $64,321
International Business. Bachelor's Degree 13 $40,077 $61,380
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 56 $39,917 $59,186
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 64 $38,871 $56,632

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

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Johnson & Wales University-Providence

CS degrees (annual)
19
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Johnson & Wales University-Providence 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.

Building a college list?

Use these to fit Johnson & Wales University-Providence into your overall strategy:

See your admit odds → Improve your score → Find merit aid →