🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 900, or ACT below 17 (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
4,440
5,000 - 9,999
In-state tuition
$37,090
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$37,090
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
93.4%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%
900–1140
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%
17–24
composite
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$56,733
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
$47,625
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$56,733
4-year completion
51%
Median debt (completers)
$27,000
Cost of attendance
$48,681
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
45%

💰 True ROI

6.2× 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)
$91,100
$22,775/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$103,624
vs sticker $194,724
10-yr earnings total
$567,330
$56,733/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
1.6 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 University of the Incarnate Word, the average net price is $22,775/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$19,260/yr
Family income $30-48k
$19,487/yr
Family income $48-75k
$21,950/yr
Family income $75-110k
$25,084/yr
Family income $110k+
$31,539/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 University of the Incarnate Word's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from University of the Incarnate Word →

Opens on University of the Incarnate Word'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 University of the Incarnate Word

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
312 degrees · 39.6%
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
249 degrees · 31.6%
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
83 degrees · 10.5%
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. Psychology
80 degrees · 10.2%
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.
5. Visual & Performing Arts
63 degrees · 8.0%
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.

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 University of the Incarnate Word

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 118 $64,720 $84,286
Human Resources Management and Services. Bachelor's Degree 52 $58,499 $72,061
Computer and Information Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 14 $44,173 $65,405
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 152 $46,092 $64,692
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions. Bachelor's Degree 9 $63,475
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. Bachelor's Degree $47,241 $62,084
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General. Bachelor's Degree 40 $41,126 $60,839
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. Bachelor's Degree 37 $22,919 $58,059
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 41 $32,771 $54,097
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. Bachelor's Degree 20 $43,843 $53,576

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

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at University of the Incarnate Word

CS degrees (annual)
16
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

University of the Incarnate Word vs. another college

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