Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Population 130,000

Weather

Comfortable Days 110 (71%)
Sunshine Hours 2,293 (15%)
Days Without Precipitation 235 (26%)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 2,396
Men / Women 54% / 46%
From State 60%
From Region 17%
Athletes 253 (10.9%)

Racial/Ethnic

White 68%
Hispanic 9%
Black 8%
Asian 5%
International 5%
Mixed 4%
Native American 0%

Schools & Majors

⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Division of Engineering 46 96% 76% 7% 4% 2% 4% $88,189 86 -0.36 90 100%
Civil Engineering — — — — — — — — $87,284 19 -0.72 90 99% — — — —
Mechanical Engineering 11 — 100% 91% 0% 0% 9% 0% $100,409 61 +0.15 96 — — — — —
Rail Transportation Engineering 9 — 100% 78% 11% 0% 0% 0% $87,284 19 -0.72 90 99% — — — —
Electromechanical Engineering Technology 26 — 92% 69% 8% 8% 0% 8% $83,333 24 -0.45 87 100% — — — —
⇅ Ranked Trends Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn Accept SAT p25 SAT p75
Pennsylvania State University - Altoona 271 40% 83% 2% 7% 6% 1% $79,655 72 +0.40 85 97%
Computer and Information Sciences 8 — 88% 75% 0% 12% 12% 0% $136,791 96 +1.87 100 97% — — — —
Cybersecurity 7 — 86% 71% 0% 29% 0% 0% $110,269 90 +0.88 98 98% — — — —
Information Sciences and Technology 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $116,365 83 +0.88 99 — — — — —
Mathematics 1 — 100% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $88,126 66 +0.10 90 98% — — — —
Biological and Physical Sciences — — — — — — — — $81,348 96 +1.73 86 94% — — — —
Biology 9 — 22% 89% 11% 0% 0% 0% $70,295 71 +0.45 75 98% — — — —
Environmental Studies 5 — 60% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $65,492 83 +0.86 68 96% — — — —
Kinesiology 16 — 69% 81% 0% 6% 12% 0% $76,169 94 +1.68 82 97% — — — —
Nursing Administration 84 — 19% 77% 5% 6% 8% 1% $96,336 73 +0.41 94 97% — — — —
Accounting 16 — 75% 94% 0% 0% 6% 0% $97,078 74 +0.65 95 98% — — — —
General Business 34 — 74% 85% 3% 0% 3% 9% $72,735 51 -0.25 78 96% — — — —
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 1 — 100% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $87,084 79 +0.49 90 98% — — — —
English 4 — 75% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $50,708 46 -0.21 32 93% — — — —
History 3 — 67% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $55,706 52 -0.12 45 94% — — — —
Letters, Arts, and Sciences 2 — 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $56,620 52 -0.07 48 94% — — — —
Communication 3 — 67% 67% 0% 33% 0% 0% $58,954 42 -0.27 54 95% — — — —
Human Development and Family Studies 12 — 8% 75% 0% 17% 8% 0% $49,247 22 -0.48 28 94% — — — —
Political Science 2 — 0% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $75,231 64 +0.22 81 97% — — — —
Psychology 7 — 14% 86% 0% 14% 0% 0% $58,266 71 +0.49 52 93% — — — —
Education 41 — 10% 98% 0% 0% 2% 0% $58,746 75 +0.43 53 97% — — — —
Design — — — — — — — — $74,539 89 +1.13 80 97% — — — —
Visual and Performing Arts — — — — — — — — $47,374 78 +0.58 23 100% — — — —
Criminal Justice 1 — 0% 0% 0% 0% 100% 0% $60,910 60 +0.14 59 97% — — — —
Criminal Justice 14 — 71% 71% 0% 14% 0% 0% $60,910 60 +0.14 59 97% — — — —

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,780
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $28,679
Est. In-State Cost $21,707
Est. Out-of-State Cost $37,099
ROI Percentile 86th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 80%
4-Year Graduation Rate 12%
6-Year Graduation Rate 16%
Transfer-Out Rate 45%

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Academics

⇅ % Degrees Male White Asian Black Hispanic Intl Earnings Earn % Earn z ROI Employment Debt-to-Earn
Health Sciences 31.5% 100 27% 78% 4% 6% 9% 1% $93,109 90 +0.61 93 97% —
Business & Economics 16.1% 51 75% 88% 2% 0% 4% 6% $80,653 55 +0.04 85 97% —
Education 12.9% 41 10% 98% 0% 0% 2% 0% $58,746 80 +0.43 53 97% —
Professional 12.9% 41 83% 68% 5% 10% 2% 5% $75,129 66 -0.23 81 99% —
Social Sciences 7.6% 24 17% 79% 0% 17% 4% 0% $55,256 36 -0.11 44 94% —
Engineering 6.3% 20 100% 85% 5% 0% 5% 0% $94,503 16 -0.24 94 99% —
Computer Science 5.0% 16 88% 75% 0% 19% 6% 0% $123,911 70 +1.38 99 97% —
Humanities 2.8% 9 56% 78% 0% 22% 0% 0% $53,688 43 -0.15 40 94% —
Life & Natural Sciences 2.8% 9 22% 89% 11% 0% 0% 0% $70,295 64 +0.45 75 98% —
Agriculture & Food Science 1.6% 5 60% 100% 0% 0% 0% 0% $65,492 73 +0.86 68 96% —
Physical Sciences & Math 0.3% 1 100% 0% 0% 100% 0% 0% $88,126 73 +0.10 90 98% —

Research

⇅ Research $ Rank Federal Industry $ PhDs Rank PhD students Postdocs
Engineering $0.9M #283 40% $0.1M — — — —
Agriculture & Food Science $0.2M #219 20% $0.0M — — — —
Life & Natural Sciences $0.2M #490 33% $0 — — — —
Health Sciences $0.2M #349 0% $0 — — — —
Physical Sciences & Math $0.2M #539 0% $0 — — — —
Humanities & Social Sciences $0.0M #520 0% $0 — — — —
Education $0.0M #428 100% $0 — — — —
Business & Economics $0 #456 — $0 — — — —
Computer Science $0 #525 — $0 — — — —
Total $1.6M #519 28% $0.2M — — — —

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Sports NCAA D3

⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Baseball 36 $135K $135K $0
Soccer 24 $30K $30K $0
Volleyball 19 $69K $69K $0
Basketball 17 $125K $125K $0
Golf 16 $126K $126K $0
Swimming 14 $44K $44K $0
Tennis 13 $17K $17K $0
Wrestling 5 $58K $58K $0
Total 144 $608K $608K $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Soccer 26 $31K $31K $0
Softball 17 $95K $95K $0
Volleyball 17 $83K $83K $0
Swimming 15 $38K $38K $0
Basketball 14 $90K $90K $0
Tennis 10 $15K $15K $0
Golf 5 $34K $34K $0
Wrestling 5 $51K $51K $0
Total 109 $442K $442K $0
⇅ Athletes ▼ Revenue Expenses Net
Soccer 50 $62K $62K $0
Baseball 36 $135K $135K $0
Volleyball 36 $152K $152K $0
Basketball 31 $215K $215K $0
Swimming 29 $83K $83K $0
Tennis 23 $33K $33K $0
Golf 21 $161K $161K $0
Softball 17 $95K $95K $0
Wrestling 10 $110K $110K $0
Total 253 $2.1M $2.1M $0

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Equity in Athletics Data Analysis. Each team's revenue and expenses are what the college attributes to it. The Total view's totals row is the department's grand total, which also includes money not attributed to any team; the Male and Female totals rows only add up their teams.

Admissions

Uses Common App No
Acceptance Rate 92%
Yield (non-ED) 10%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

In-State Out-of-State International
Regular Decision 92% 92% 92%

This college’s Common Data Set does not break down admissions by applicant demographics, so in-state, out-of-state, and international applicants share one Regular Decision rate.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy optional
Submitted Test Scores 27%
SAT Range 1070 – 1290
SAT Math Range 540 – 640
SAT RW Range 530 – 650