United States Coast Guard Academy — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Strong target

Selective but achievable for strong students.

✅ Best for

Solid academic profile (SAT 1210–1380 · ACT 25–30 middle 50% + typically a 3.7+ unweighted GPA in rigorous coursework)
Students focused on Engineering (the school's signature program)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1210, or ACT below 25, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)
With selective universities, build a balanced college list of Reaches, Targets, and Safeties ⓘ

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: Diverse Fields

Total enrollment

1,108

1,000 - 4,999

Admit rate

24.3%

Highly selective

SAT middle 50%

1210–1380

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

25–30

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

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).

4-year completion

93%

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at United States Coast Guard Academy

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what United States Coast Guard Academy actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Engineering

120 degrees · 48.6%

Typical career outcomes

Mechanical Engineer $100k Electrical Engineer $107k Civil Engineer $93k Chemical Engineer $112k

Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.

2. Business, Management, & Marketing

45 degrees · 18.2%

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.

3. Social Sciences

37 degrees · 15.0%

Typical career outcomes

Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k

Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

4. Physical Sciences

25 degrees · 10.1%

Typical career outcomes

Chemist $85k Physicist $147k Geoscientist $93k Materials Scientist $100k

Chemistry, physics, geology — strong wages especially in industry roles.

5. Computer & Information Sciences

20 degrees · 8.1%

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.

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

United States Coast Guard Academy 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 United States Coast Guard Academy

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 United States Coast Guard Academy doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

University of Alabama in Huntsville

AL · Public

39 auto-merit scholarships on file

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