Palm Beach Atlantic University — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

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

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 970, or ACT below 19 (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

Doctoral/Professional Universities

Total enrollment

2,603

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$40,650

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$40,650

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

88.3%

Accepts the majority

SAT middle 50%

970–1210

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

19–26

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$49,232

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

$42,366

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$49,232

4-year completion

55%

Median debt (completers)

$22,500

Cost of attendance

$53,827

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

23%

💰 True ROI

4.3× 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)

$113,416

$28,354/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$101,892

vs sticker $215,308

10-yr earnings total

$492,320

$49,232/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

2.3 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 Palm Beach Atlantic University, the average net price is $28,354/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$25,570/yr

Family income $30-48k

$25,312/yr

Family income $48-75k

$25,619/yr

Family income $75-110k

$26,244/yr

Family income $110k+

$32,786/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 Palm Beach Atlantic University's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Palm Beach Atlantic University →

Opens on Palm Beach Atlantic 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 Palm Beach Atlantic University

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing

110 degrees · 35.8%

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

87 degrees · 28.3%

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. Psychology

45 degrees · 14.7%

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.

4. Visual & Performing Arts

36 degrees · 11.7%

Typical career outcomes

Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k

Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.

5. Theology & Religious Vocations

29 degrees · 9.4%

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 Palm Beach Atlantic 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
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.	Bachelor's Degree	47	$70,586	$76,008
Finance and Financial Management Services.	Bachelor's Degree	15	—	$66,689
Human Resources Management and Services.	Bachelor's Degree	16	—	$60,379
Business Administration, Management and Operations.	Bachelor's Degree	37	$46,970	$59,081
Biology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	25	$28,991	$56,258
Marketing.	Bachelor's Degree	25	$39,743	$53,668
Theological and Ministerial Studies.	Bachelor's Degree	23	$28,383	$53,398
Psychology, General.	Bachelor's Degree	49	$35,403	$51,530
Communication and Media Studies.	Bachelor's Degree	12	—	$47,847
Missions/Missionary Studies and Missiology.	Bachelor's Degree	11	—	$42,589

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

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Palm Beach Atlantic University

CS degrees (annual)

4

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Palm Beach Atlantic 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.

Alternatives to Palm Beach Atlantic University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options

These similar-selectivity schools have published auto-merit grids that Palm Beach Atlantic University doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

Texas Tech University

TX · Public

31 auto-merit scholarships on file

The University of Alabama

AL · Public

23 auto-merit scholarships on file

Mississippi State University

MS · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file

University of Alabama at Birmingham

AL · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file