Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona

What are the graduation rates for students at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona?

Reported campus graduation rates need particular care at Penn State Altoona because many students begin there and finish a Penn State degree at another campus. The reported overall graduation rate is 17%, while the four-year figure is 12% and the six-year figure is 16%. These are cohort measures, not predictions of an individual student's likelihood of earning a degree.

A campus-based completion measure can treat a move to University Park or another Penn State campus differently from graduation at Altoona. The figures therefore should not be read as a complete measure of eventual Penn State degree completion for students who start in Altoona. The reported first-year retention rate is 80%, which measures continued enrollment rather than graduation.

Applicants comparing outcomes should ask for two distinct measures: completion among students in degrees offered entirely at Altoona, and eventual Penn State completion among students who begin at Altoona and change campuses. Those answers are more useful for an individual degree plan than a single campus-wide rate.

What is the earning potential for graduates at Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Altoona?

Field-of-study earnings figures associated with Penn State Altoona describe reported earnings roughly one year after completion, not starting-salary offers or guaranteed outcomes. The reported amounts vary substantially by subject: computer and information sciences is listed at $73,647, registered nursing at $67,759, and business/commerce at $42,524. Psychology is listed at $29,652.

These are field-level measures, not salaries earned by every graduate of a named Altoona major. The underlying population and statistical definition should be checked before treating two fields as directly comparable. Early earnings can also reflect occupation, location, further education, hours worked, and prior experience. In particular, a one-year measure cannot show longer-term career progression or whether a student's eventual degree was completed at another Penn State campus.