American University (AU)

Overview of American University (AU)

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Despite, or perhaps as a consequence of, the intense academic environment, AU students take advantage of their campus' extraordinary extracurricular opportunities. After class, students are known to head to the University Center where they find friends, food, and fellowship. They can also seek out sporting opportunities at the varsity, club, or intramural level.

Most students will look to get their competitive edge on at the club or intramural level. AU supports teams and leagues in a wide range of sports. There are 25 club-level sports teams who take on other colleges in rugby, sailing, soccer, and ultimate frisbee, to name a few. For the less competitive, intramural leagues offer a way to face off against fellow AU students in sports including beach volleyball, basketball, innertube water polo, and softball.

Top Rankings For American University

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AU Acceptance Rate and Admissions

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AU Tuition Cost & Financial Aid

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American University is a private, not-for-profit institution. As such, it may cost a bit more to attend, regardless of where a student comes from. Indeed, the gross price tag is rather steep, with students seeing their tuition and other academic costs rising to over $54,000. When all the other expenses including room, board, entertainment, and other living costs are tallied, AU students pay nearly $72,000 for a year of living and learning. However, this is before the financial aid office works their magic.

The financial aid office applies grants and scholarships to each student’s bill and can often ameliorate the price quite significantly. The average net price for a year at AU is only $29,000, including all living costs. However, the lowest income students see their costs fall to under $11,000 and the highest earning households still only face an average net cost of $40,000 per year. The median is then only $15,000. Given the academic quality AU delivers, this is a tremendous value in higher education.

Sticker Price

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Popular Academic Programs at AU

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American University students are well-known to be a brainy bunch. They often graduate and then kick off brilliant careers in government or industry. Our researchers wanted to get to the nitty gritty and verify AU's reputation with hard data. To do so, they investigated the retention rate and graduation rates, among other metrics.

The retention rate at AU was terrific. This figure reflects the number of first-time, full-time AU students who return to campus for a second year. A high retention rate indicates that both the students and their families are impressed with the school's academic programs, faculty, and campus resources. AU posts a retention rate of 90%, a stellar figure from any school.

This figure is bolstered by the graduation rate. AU posts a graduation rate of 79%. This means that there's a high likelihood that a first-year student could graduate with the friends they meet in those first-year dormitories.

Our researchers attributed much of this academic success to AU's dedication to ensuring a nurturing academic environment. The 12 to 1 student to faculty ratio is evidence that AU students enjoy close attention from their instructors. Even those large introductory courses that every student must take aren't too jam-packed and students can have their questions addressed by top academic professionals.

Student Population Total

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Outcome & Salary

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Researchers have found that the highest earning students from most schools fall into certain categories. For instance, most of the top-five earning degrees include technology, nursing, and engineering students. American University is somewhat of an exception in this respect. In fact, AU's top-earning graduates studied accounting during their time in DC. AU accountants start their careers earning over $87,000. Other top-earning degrees include public relations, finance, and business administration. The fifth highest earning graduates from AU were the economics students, who report a median salary of $70,000.

Photos & Videos

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