College · Private nonprofit · Dubuque, IA · City
Clarke University
Dubuque, IA
Religious affiliation
Admit rate72%
6-yr median pay$49k
Net price / yr$24k
Undergrad size742
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $24k/yr for a shot at a $49k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 72% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1054 · ACT 21.
If you get in
742 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $56k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $24k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$223k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$98k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$125k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $40.9k
- Room & board
- $11.7k
- Books & supplies
- $1,514
How students pay for it.
Pell grants37%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans74%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention67%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr56%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$49k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$55k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out39%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 742
- Location
- Dubuque, IA
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral/Professional Universities
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White52%
- Black13%
- Hispanic12%
- International11%
- Unknown5%
- Two or more races4%
- Asian2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students29%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$66k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 31
What you can study.