American University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates, a notably small equity gap.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 178 Title IV programs, 52 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 126 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing52 · 29.2%
- No Data126 · 70.8%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 5
Action history · 8
- Mar 2025Renewal of AccreditationCouncil on Education for Public Health · Public Health Programs (PHPB) — Baccalaureate only level programs offered outside a school of public health
- Jun 2024Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Apr 2023Deny Substantive Change: OtherMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jan 2023Grant Substantive Change: OtherMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Feb 2022Grant Substantive Change: OtherMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 1,370 students received $8.2M in Pell grants, alongside $140.6M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 2,930 borrowers who entered repayment, 29 (0.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at American
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 8
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus11
Includes 8 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Religion5
- Sexual orientation1
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- Centennial Hall2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- Centennial Hall2 firesCookingDamage $0-$99
- Letts Hall1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
- Nebraska Hall2 firesElectricalDamage $0-$99
- Nebraska Hall2 firesElectricalDamage $0-$99
- Leonard Hall1 fireMachinery/IndustrialDamage $0-$99
- Federal Hall1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
Data quality: 5 reports were later determined unfounded across the reporting period and are excluded from the totals above.
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
American vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions American selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectAmerican University | 75% | — | 12,321 | $41,943 | R2 Research |
| 70% | 41.3% | 14,890 | $50,539 | R2 Research | |
| 79% | 82.8% | 5,243 | $29,561 | R2 Research | |
| 69% | 73.3% | 9,571 | $31,446 | R2 Research | |
| 82% | 59.3% | 16,150 | $44,338 | R2 Research | |
| 55% | 86.2% | 16,689 | $33,062 | R2 Research | |
| Peer group median | 73% | 73.3% | 13,606 | $37,503 |
Institutions like American
Explore the federal data for institutions in American's comparison group.
- R2 ResearchDistrict of Columbia
Howard University
Grad rate70%Admit rate41.3%Enrollment14,890Net price$50,539View data - R2 ResearchDistrict of Columbia
The Catholic University of America
Grad rate79%Admit rate82.8%Enrollment5,243Net price$29,561View data - R2 ResearchNew Jersey
Seton Hall University
Grad rate69%Admit rate73.3%Enrollment9,571Net price$31,446View data - R2 ResearchNew York
Fordham University
Grad rate82%Admit rate59.3%Enrollment16,150Net price$44,338View data - R2 ResearchNew York
Long Island University
Grad rate55%Admit rate86.2%Enrollment16,689Net price$33,062View data
American Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment provides meaningful and accurate information and analysis to University decision makers, the AU community, and external stakeholders in order to advance the University's mission and foster a culture of continuous improvement and institutional effectiveness.
Visit IR office page- Robin BeadsAssistant Vice Provost, Institutional Research & Assessment
- David KaibAssistant Director, Institutional Research and Assessment
- Melissa BlancoSenior Research Analyst
- Kristi GibsonSr Coordinator Student Evaluation & Teaching
Common Data Set
American's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about American University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about American.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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