The University of Pennsylvania is a private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia. Founded in 1740 and associated with Benjamin Franklin, it is home to the Wharton School, the first collegiate business school in the country.
10,768 undergraduate students. 309 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
UNITID 215062 · OPEID 003378 · IPEDS HDVINTAGE · COLLEGE SCORECARD · 2025-05 · HISTORY 1996–2024
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at Penn
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+14%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at University of Pennsylvania rose 14% between 2006 and 2009 ($34.2k → $39.0k).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at University of Pennsylvania fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.3% → 0.0%).
LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+11%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at University of Pennsylvania rose 11% between 2021 and 2024 ($61.7k → $68.7k).
PEER OUTLIER · TRENDING BETTER+89%
Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer
10-year earnings at University of Pennsylvania are 89% above the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($111.4k vs $59.0k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
Penn earnings, debt, and completion vs. the Pennsylvania median
Each tile compares this institution to the Pennsylvania median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$111,371+23% · 6→10y
Pennsylvania median $49,859
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$90,555
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
96.8%+6% · '97→'09
Pennsylvania median 66.1%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$14,000+5% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
10,768-6% · '96→'09
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
98.1%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
5.9%-75% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$66,104+173% · '00→'24
out-of-state $66,104
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How Penn earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at Penn
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
1.7%
0%8% · GE20%+
Median federal debt $14,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $111,371 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Penn enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
UNDERGRAD · 1996–200910,842
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997–200995.0%
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 1997–2020$15,715
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
IN-STATE TUITION · 2000→2024+173%
Penn · in-state tuition rose
$25,170 → $68,686
OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 2000→2009+55%
Penn · out-of-state tuition rose
$25,170 → $38,970
COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 2011→2024-85%
Penn · cohort default rate fell
1.7% → 0.0%
PELL SHARE · 2008→2024+105%
Penn · pell share rose
8.1% → 16.5%
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_10YR · 2007→2020+44%
Penn · earnings_median_10yr rose
$77,100 → $111,371
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 2005→2020+47%
Penn · earnings_median_8yr rose
$68,300 → $100,118
EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 2003→2020+60%
Penn · earnings_median_6yr rose
$56,600 → $90,555
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Penn programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.
Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.
NET PRESENT VALUE
$3,497,822
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 6
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
Cost per year
$17,585
HS-only baseline · PA
$38,100
Years to complete
6
CIP family
52
Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to Penn in Pennsylvania
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
“Penn graduates earn $X” — not “Penn makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Penn caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.