Private nonprofit4-year

American University

Tuition, net price, acceptance rate, SAT/ACT scores, graduation rate, and graduate salary · Washington, District of Columbia

Official website ↗ American University net price calculator ↗ College Scorecard, June 2026

Net price / year

$41,943

after grants & scholarships

higher than 96% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges

Acceptance rate

62%

Graduation rate

77%

within 150% of normal time

higher than 85% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges

Median earnings

$79,081

4 years after graduating

higher than 87% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges

American University at a glance

What is the tuition at American University?: Undergraduate tuition and fees are $58,771 for the 2024-25 academic year.
What is the cost of attendance at American University?: The average cost of attendance is $76,058 a year before financial aid (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses.
What is the net price at American University?: The average net price is $41,943 a year after grants and scholarships, for students receiving federal aid (2023-24).
What is the acceptance rate at American University?: About 62% of applicants were admitted (fall 2024).
What SAT and ACT scores are typical at American University?: The middle 50% of admitted students who submitted scores had an SAT total of about 1280–1460 and an ACT composite of 29–32 (fall 2024). Test policy reported: Considered if submitted, but not required.
What is the graduation rate at American University?: 77% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of normal time, or 6 years (entering classes through fall 2018).
How much do graduates of American University earn?: The median graduate earns $79,081 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled (2024 dollars).

Key takeaways

At $41,943 a year, the average net price is higher than 96% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges.
Graduates earn a median $79,081 four years after finishing, more than 87% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges.
The earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate would cover the estimated net cost in about 4.3 years of work (not counting income forgone while studying).
77% of students graduate on time or within 150% of normal time, higher than 85% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges.
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $23,233 a year on average, versus $53,673 for families earning over $110,000.

Tuition and cost of attendance at American University

Average net price

$41,943 per year

Cost of attendance minus average grants and scholarships, for first-time full-time students receiving federal aid.

Estimate your own price with the American University net price calculator ↗

Estimated total net cost

$167,772

Net price × 4 years, at today's prices and assuming on-time completion. Your actual cost depends on your aid.

Net price by family income

Average yearly net price for students receiving federal aid.

$0–30k $23,233
$30–48k $20,444
$48–75k $26,035
$75–110k $30,063
$110k+ $53,673

Where the sticker price goes· Cost of attendance $76,058

Tuition & fees$58,771
Books & supplies$1,000
Room & board$17,982
Other expenses$1,618

Tuition & fees (in-state): $58,771
Tuition & fees (out-of-state): $58,771

American University acceptance rate and SAT/ACT scores

Acceptance rate

Share of applicants admitted.

Test policy: Considered if submitted, but not required

SAT range (middle 50%)1280–1460

4001600

ACT composite range (middle 50%)29–32

136

Graduation rate and salary after graduating from American University

Graduation rate

77%

First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time.

Retention rate

87%

Full-time first-years who return the next fall.

Typical monthly payment

$241

On a standard 10-year federal plan.

Years of earnings premium to cover cost

4.3 years

Net cost ÷ (graduate earnings − high-school graduate earnings). Excludes income forgone while studying and assumes today's earnings. A rough guide, not a prediction.

Earnings vs debt

4 years after graduating$79,081

1 year after graduating$50,329

Median graduate debt$22,750

High-school graduate median (District of Columbia)$40,140

Of graduates working and not enrolled, in 2024 dollars.

Debt-to-earnings: 0.3×Median debt divided by median earnings 4 years after graduating.
Share of pay going to loans: 3.7%
3-year loan default rate: 0%

Outcomes by student group

The Scorecard reports some outcomes separately for groups of students. A group is left out when it is too small to report. These are school-level figures and say nothing about any individual student.

Completion within 150% of normal time, by group

Share of students who entered in 2018 and completed within 150% of normal time (six years at a four-year college, three at a two-year college).

White students 77%

Black students 79%

Hispanic students 71%

Asian students 80%

Pell Grant recipients 75%

All students, same entering cohort: 75%

Group rates and the all-student rate come from the same 2018 entering cohort, so they can be compared directly. Groups at small colleges can rest on very few students. Data period: Entering cohort 2018 (IPEDS).

Earnings ten years after entry

All students who entered this college, whether or not they graduated, in 2022 dollars, ten years after entry.

Typical range: middle half of students

25th percentile $51,260 · median $77,370 · 75th percentile $112,884

Median by family income

Lowest third of family incomes $76,415

Middle third $75,037

Highest third $79,088

Median by sex

Male students $82,125

Non-male students $75,180

This is not the same as the graduates' earnings shown above. It covers everyone who entered, including students who left without a degree, ten years after entry and in 2022 dollars. The graduates' figure covers only completers, four years after finishing, in 2024 dollars. Do not compare the two directly.

Data period: Students who entered in academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 (pooled), earnings measured in 2020 and 2021, 2022 dollars (Treasury).

Median federal student debt, by group

Median federal loan debt of students who borrowed, when they left school, by group.

By Pell Grant status

Pell Grant recipients $19,500

Not Pell recipients $19,500

By first-generation status

First-generation students $19,500

Not first-generation $19,500

By family income

Family income $0–$30,000 $18,500

Family income $30,001–$75,000 $19,500

Family income over $75,000 $19,750

By gender

Men $19,500

Women $19,500

Data period: Loans in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 (pooled, NSLDS).

How borrowers are doing

One year after leaving school and entering repayment, here is where the 2,633 federal-loan borrowers from this college stood. It covers borrowers only, not students who did not take federal loans.

Repayment status one year after entering repayment

Paid in full 12%
Making progress 16%
Not making progress 11%
Delinquent 1%
Default 0%
Forbearance 47%
Deferment 12%
Discharged 0%

What the terms mean

Paid in full:: The borrower has paid off the loans completely.
Making progress:: Payments are reducing the loan balance, not just covering interest.
Not making progress:: The borrower is paying, but not enough to shrink the balance.
Delinquent:: Payments are late but the loan is not yet in default.
Default:: The borrower has missed payments for so long that the loan is officially in default.
Forbearance:: Payments are temporarily paused or reduced, and interest may keep adding up.
Deferment:: Payments are on hold for an approved reason, such as returning to school.
Discharged:: The loan was cancelled, for example because of a disability or a school closure.

2,633 borrowers · Data period: Borrowers who entered repayment in the AY2018-19 and AY2019-20 cohorts (pooled, NSLDS).

Programs and majors at American University ranked by earnings

Program	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Earnings over time	Compared with the U.S. median for this field	Median debt
Finance and Financial Management Services Bachelor's · Graduates: 39	$134,332	1 yr$83,5054 yrs$134,3325 yrs$103,137	U.S. median $83,343 U.S. middle half $60.8K–$111.5K · Above the U.S. median	$22,625
Accounting and Related Services Bachelor's · Graduates: 22 Small sample	$119,020	4 yrs$119,0205 yrs$104,304	U.S. median $76,194 U.S. middle half $56.2K–$97.2K · Above the U.S. median	—
Computer Science Bachelor's · Graduates: 16 Small sample	$117,293	—	U.S. median $107,009 U.S. middle half $74.8K–$152K · Above the U.S. median	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations Bachelor's · Graduates: 175	$88,359	1 yr$58,2994 yrs$88,3595 yrs$88,921	U.S. median $68,257 U.S. middle half $47.6K–$93.6K · Above the U.S. median	$24,500
Economics Bachelor's · Graduates: 89	$85,016	1 yr$58,1514 yrs$85,0165 yrs$77,219	U.S. median $82,686 U.S. middle half $58.2K–$116.3K · Above the U.S. median	$22,191
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication Bachelor's · Graduates: 130	$78,410	1 yr$50,0264 yrs$78,4105 yrs$94,957	U.S. median $63,560 U.S. middle half $45.9K–$83.7K · Above the U.S. median	$26,442
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other Bachelor's · Graduates: 110	$76,552	1 yr$49,4864 yrs$76,5525 yrs$69,087	U.S. median $55,693 U.S. middle half $40.3K–$72.2K · Above the U.S. median	$23,000
Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians Bachelor's · Graduates: 18 Small sample	$75,461	1 yr$19,3374 yrs$75,4615 yrs$65,827	U.S. median $44,889 U.S. middle half $26.7K–$61.6K · Above the U.S. median	$19,085
International Relations and National Security Studies Bachelor's · Graduates: 444	$73,865	1 yr$47,5514 yrs$73,8655 yrs$71,028	U.S. median $66,596 U.S. middle half $46K–$87.8K · Above the U.S. median	$23,250
Political Science and Government Bachelor's · Graduates: 156	$73,604	1 yr$48,0344 yrs$73,6045 yrs$78,954	U.S. median $63,293 U.S. middle half $44.8K–$85.4K · Above the U.S. median	$23,250

Show all 23 programs

Non-Professional Legal Studies Bachelor's · Graduates: 35	$72,792	1 yr$45,7904 yrs$72,7925 yrs$101,273	U.S. median $61,959 U.S. middle half $42.7K–$82.6K · Above the U.S. median	$24,375
Public Health Bachelor's · Graduates: 69	$70,831	1 yr$42,1944 yrs$70,8315 yrs$67,737	U.S. median $58,808 U.S. middle half $42K–$79.2K · Above the U.S. median	$23,250
Communication and Media Studies Bachelor's · Graduates: 29 Small sample	$67,863	1 yr$36,9804 yrs$67,8635 yrs$75,154	U.S. median $56,359 U.S. middle half $39.6K–$76.1K · Above the U.S. median	$22,611
Criminal Justice and Corrections Bachelor's · Graduates: 51	$66,970	1 yr$37,1474 yrs$66,9705 yrs$61,582	U.S. median $55,378 U.S. middle half $40.2K–$74.4K · Above the U.S. median	$23,250
Journalism Bachelor's · Graduates: 76	$66,635	1 yr$44,3874 yrs$66,6355 yrs$55,636	U.S. median $56,278 U.S. middle half $40.6K–$73.9K · Above the U.S. median	$24,976
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods Bachelor's · Graduates: 20 Small sample	$66,160	1 yr$55,6254 yrs$66,1605 yrs$66,315	U.S. median $47,382 U.S. middle half $38.4K–$56.1K · Above the U.S. median	$27,000
Natural Resources Conservation and Research Bachelor's · Graduates: 23 Small sample	$63,711	1 yr$46,7804 yrs$63,7115 yrs$78,483	U.S. median $55,012 U.S. middle half $39.4K–$72.8K · Above the U.S. median	$26,125
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies Bachelor's · Graduates: 17 Small sample	$63,553	1 yr$46,2064 yrs$63,5535 yrs$66,897	U.S. median $51,710 U.S. middle half $34.9K–$68.1K · Above the U.S. median	$25,000
Psychology, General Bachelor's · Graduates: 46	$62,240	1 yr$25,7734 yrs$62,2405 yrs$62,657	U.S. median $50,706 U.S. middle half $35.7K–$67.2K · Above the U.S. median	$23,500
History Bachelor's · Graduates: 40	$59,630	1 yr$43,8094 yrs$59,6305 yrs$54,363	U.S. median $50,680 U.S. middle half $36.3K–$66.7K · Above the U.S. median	$26,000
Literature Bachelor's · Graduates: 25 Small sample	$54,436	1 yr$23,1644 yrs$54,4365 yrs$51,266	U.S. median $46,173 U.S. middle half $26.2K–$63.9K · Above the U.S. median	$26,105
Anthropology Bachelor's · Graduates: 16 Small sample	$53,036	—	U.S. median $46,676 U.S. middle half $32.1K–$63.9K · Above the U.S. median	—
Film/Video and Photographic Arts Bachelor's · Graduates: 55	$52,661	1 yr$26,7674 yrs$52,6615 yrs$69,028	U.S. median $43,765 U.S. middle half $26K–$63.4K · Above the U.S. median	$22,000

Earnings are for graduates working and not enrolled, 4 years after completing, in 2024 dollars.

The U.S. median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile) are for graduates of the same field and credential level at all colleges, 4 years after completing.

The 1-year, 4-year and 5-year figures come from different graduating cohorts and dollar years (1-year: AY2018-19 and AY2019-20 graduates, 2022 dollars; 4-year: AY2017-18 and AY2018-19 graduates, 2024 dollars; 5-year: AY2014-15 and AY2015-16 graduates, 2022 dollars), so read them as three separate measures, not a single career path.

Small samples are noisy: the Scorecard adds privacy noise to program figures and some rows are based on only a handful of graduates, so rows marked “small sample” can move a lot from year to year.

What students study

The largest fields among the degrees and certificates this college awarded, grouped by two-digit CIP code (the federal Classification of Instructional Programs). Fields under 1% are left out.

Share of degrees and certificates awarded, by field

Social Sciences 33.7%

Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services 11.4%

Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs 8.5%

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 7.9%

Visual and Performing Arts 5.9%

Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services 5.7%

Psychology 3.9%

Biological and Biomedical Sciences 3.2%

A large share means many awards, not necessarily many students or higher earnings. Data period: Awards in academic year 2024-25 (IPEDS).

Who attends

A snapshot of the undergraduate student body as this college reported it to the federal government. Shares are shown as published; they can differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.

Race and ethnicity

White 56%
Black or African American 8.2%
Hispanic or Latino 14%
Asian 7.4%
American Indian or Alaska Native 0%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0%
Two or more races 5.9%
U.S. nonresident 5.3%
Race and ethnicity unknown 3.2%

Federal reporting categories. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are counted as nonresident, and students who did not report are counted as unknown. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).

Gender

Men 37.6%
Women 62.4%

Federal reporting uses two categories. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).

Students aged 25 or older

of undergraduates

Many adult students work or have families while enrolled. Data period: Fall 2023 (IPEDS).

Students and campus

Undergraduate enrollment: 7,266
Part-time students: 3%
Receive Pell Grants: 14%
Receive federal loans: 38%
Students per faculty member: 10 : 1
Setting: City

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Guides worth reading

Plain-language explainers that help you read the numbers on this page.

Frequently asked questions

How much is tuition at American University?

For the 2024-25 academic year, American University reported undergraduate tuition and fees of $58,771. This is the published price before grants and scholarships; what you pay depends on your aid.

What is the cost of attendance and net price at American University?

The average cost of attendance at American University is $76,058 a year (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $41,943 a year. That is higher than 96% of private nonprofit 4-year colleges.

How much financial aid do students at American University get?

14% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. 38% receive federal loans. The average net price runs from $23,233 a year for families earning under $30,000 to $53,673 for families earning over $110,000 (2023-24).

What is the acceptance rate at American University?

American University admitted about 62% of applicants in fall 2024. That means most applicants are admitted.

What SAT and ACT scores do you need for American University?

Among admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% had an SAT total of about 1280–1460 and an ACT composite of 29–32 (fall 2024). That is a guide, not a cutoff. Reported test policy: Considered if submitted, but not required.

What are the graduation rate and retention rate at American University?

77% of first-time, full-time students at American University finish within 150% of normal time. 87% of full-time first-years return the next fall.

How much do American University graduates earn after graduation?

The median graduate earns $79,081 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled in further study (2024 dollars). One year after finishing, the median is $50,329.

Is American University worth it?

There is no single answer: it depends on your major, your aid and whether you finish. For American University, the data shows this. The earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate would cover the estimated net cost in about 4.3 years of work. Graduates who borrowed have a median debt of $22,750, about 0.3 times their median earnings four years after finishing. 77% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of normal time. These are averages, not predictions, and they do not count income forgone while studying.

Sources and data periods

All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (June 2026 release). Periods differ by measure:

Average net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
Acceptance rate: Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
Graduation rate: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 pooled with previous years (# of total pooled years found in POOLYRS)
Median earnings: Treasury AY2017-18, AY2018-19 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Median graduate debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts

Some figures are blank because the school did not report them or the group was too small to publish. How we calculate things