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Public · Urban campus · founded 1885 · full profile

University of Arizona

Students who want major research-university resources — especially in space, optical or earth sciences — at an accessible admit rate, and who will actively use honors programs, advising and departmental communities.

CompareOfficial site
Tucson, Arizona42,537 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 20Public flagshipResearch universityAccessible admission

The short answer

Arizona is a major research university with world-leading astronomy and optical sciences programs — it operates the Mirror Lab that builds the world's largest telescope mirrors — and admits 87% of applicants with generous automatic merit aid for non-residents. The caution is completion: a 68% six-year graduation rate is low for a flagship.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
86.1%

Above the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$16,674

72% below the $59,024 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$59,979

Above the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
67.5%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$19,620

Above the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1150–1420

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Arizona ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Universities#127of 436National universities
Forbes2026America's Top Colleges#124of 500Top colleges (Forbes)
Washington Monthly2026National Universities#96of 442National universities
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)A#130of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University Rankings#289of 1,504World (QS)

Methodology sensitivity: Arizona's position moves 24 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Arizona

Arizona's research profile is genuinely elite in specific fields even though its overall ranking sits around #127. Its astronomy and planetary sciences department is among the best in the world, the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab beneath the football stadium casts the largest telescope mirrors ever made, and the university led NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission. Optical sciences and mining engineering are similarly world-class, and Eller's management information systems program ranks nationally.

The access story is the other half. At an 87% acceptance rate with predictable automatic merit scholarships for out-of-state students based on GPA and test scores, Arizona is one of the most reachable paths into a major research university. Many non-residents end up paying close to in-state rates after merit awards, which makes it a common financial safety with real upside for students who then find their way into a strong department or the Honors College.

The 68% six-year graduation rate is the number families should confront directly. It reflects an open-access mission serving many first-generation, transfer and part-time students, but it also means roughly a third of entering students do not finish within six years. That risk is concentrated among students who do not connect to advising, an honors program or a departmental community. Prospective students should ask about graduation rates in their specific college, which vary substantially.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • World-leading astronomy, planetary science and optical sciences, including the Mirror Lab and OSIRIS-REx leadership.
  • A 86.1% acceptance rate with predictable automatic merit aid for out-of-state students.
  • Average net price of $16,674 — low for a major research university.
  • Honors College provides a small-college experience inside a 38,000-student institution.

Considerations

  • 68% six-year graduation rate is low for a public flagship.
  • Median earnings of $59,979 reflect a broad major mix and open-access intake.
  • At 38,000 undergraduates, students who do not seek out community can drift.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students who want major research-university resources — especially in space, optical or earth sciences — at an accessible admit rate, and who will actively use honors programs, advising and departmental communities.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

In-state tuition & fees
$13,926

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Out-of-state tuition & fees
$42,278

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$16,746

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $59,024 a year, but the average family pays $16,674 — a 72% difference. 25.7% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Arizona's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business Administration
  2. 2Psychology
  3. 3Physiology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Nursing

Standout programs

  • Astronomy & Planetary Sciences
  • Optical Sciences
  • Mining & Geological Engineering
  • Eller College of Management (MIS)
  • Space Sciences
Student-faculty ratio
19:1

IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

First-year retention
82.8%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduate enrollment
42,537

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Arizona: questions families ask

It is one of the best places in the world for it. The Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory rank among the top programs globally, the university's Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab casts the largest telescope mirrors ever made, and Arizona led NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample-return mission. Undergraduates can work on genuinely frontier research.

The six-year rate is 67.5%, reflecting an open-access mission that admits 86.1% of applicants and serves large numbers of first-generation, transfer and part-time students. The risk is unevenly distributed — students in the Honors College or in structured professional programs graduate at much higher rates. Ask the admissions office for the graduation rate within your specific college and major.

Similar colleges

Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, MIPublic

Michigan is the strongest all-around public university in the country by breadth, ranking top-25 nationally while enrolling 34,177 undergraduates. In-state students pay about $18,000 in tuition for a program that competes with private universities charging three times that; out-of-state students pay roughly $60,000 and receive limited need-based aid.

Acceptance rate
15.6%
Average net price
$13,138
Median earnings (10 yr)
$83,648
6-yr graduation rate
93.2%
US News · National universities#20 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#21 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#29 of 442+3 more on profile

34,177 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 4 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

Purdue University

West Lafayette, INPublic

Purdue has frozen tuition since 2012, holding in-state cost at $9,992 for more than a decade while ranking #46 nationally and top-10 for engineering. It graduates more astronauts than any other institution outside the service academies, and at a 49.9% acceptance rate it is meaningfully attainable — rare among schools with these engineering outcomes.

Acceptance rate
49.9%
Average net price
$14,600
Median earnings (10 yr)
$72,424
6-yr graduation rate
83.1%
US News · National universities#46 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#62 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#44 of 442+3 more on profile

44,503 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 11 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

University of California, Merced

Merced, CAPublic

UC Merced is the newest University of California campus and the most accessible way into the UC research system, admitting 90.5% of applicants while charging an average net price of $11,983. 58.9% of its undergraduates receive Pell grants and 57.4% are the first in their family to attend college, which makes it one of the most economically diverse research universities in the country.

Acceptance rate
90.5%
Average net price
$11,983
Median earnings (10 yr)
$64,368
6-yr graduation rate
68.7%
US News · National universities#57 of 436Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#190 of 500Washington Monthly · National universities#14 of 442+3 more on profile

8,372 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 14 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

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