Quad

Outcomes

What it pays

Former students earn a median $74,545 ten years after enrolling, more than at 87% of colleges; 83% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 2.6 years of that salary.

Earnings

Median earnings vs. every college$74.5K
$74.5K
← $24.8Khigher than 87% of 1,762$108.8K →

Earnings climb with time

6 years after entry$58.1K
10 years after entry$74.5K

Staying and finishing

89%

Retention

come back for year two

83%

Graduation

graduate within six years

National median graduation rate: 59%

What graduates owe

Median debt at graduation, federal loans only

$20.5K

According to Elon University's most recent Common Data Set, 15% of its Class of 2025 graduates (1,441 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private.

Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.

Everyone who starts here, 8 years later

Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.

83 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 12 more are enrolled at another college. (1,691 students)

Earned a credential within 8 years

All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.

Pell Grant recipients75%
Students without a Pell Grant84%
How long it takes

79 of 100 finish within 4 years, 83 within 6, and 83 within 8.

Earned a credential within4 yrs6 yrs8 yrs
All students79%83%83%
Started in college here79%83%84%
Transferred in76%78%79%

Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.

National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.

Do lower-income students finish?

Of 100 Pell Grant recipients who entered in fall 2019, 70 finished within 4 years and 77 within 6. First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2019.

  • Pell Grant recipients164 students

    77% · 70% within 4 years · 5 points below students with neither

  • Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant259 students

    80% · 79% within 4 years · 2 points below students with neither

  • Neither Pell nor subsidized loan1,236 students

    82% · 78% within 4 years · comparison group

All students in this class: 81%

Within 4 years

By race and ethnicity

First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.

  • White1,381 students

    84% · 3 points above all students

  • Asian42 students

    83% · 2 points above all students

  • Hispanic/Latino99 students

    82% · the same as all students

  • Black82 students

    87% · 5 points above all students

  • Two or more races58 students

    86% · 5 points above all students

  • International31 students

    74% · 7 points below all students

  • American Indian/Alaska Native3 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander1 students

    Not shown: under 30 students

All students (IPEDS, entered fall 2018): 84%

Cost vs. earnings

The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Elon University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.

PublicPrivateDot size = undergrads

↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)

Lower cost, higher earnings$0$20K$40K$60K$80K$100K$120K$140K$160K$0$10K$20K$30K$40K$50K$60K$70K$80KElon University
Average cost per year, all students (est.) → more expensive

Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;Elon University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;Elon University Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2019;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Elon University Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)