Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF
Samuel Merritt University
Oakland, CA · 7 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 7 · Federal debt reported for 1
Based onFederal evidence is incompleteEstimateNot enough data
Estimated 10-year payoff
Price unavailable
Payoff needs a reliable price
Observed year-5 earnings are available, but the current federal record does not provide a usable institution-wide average net price.
Not availableTime to earn back the modeled cost
Not availableEstimated return after 10 years
$147,667Observed earnings · year 5
Not availableHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
No payoff curve is shown.
Observed year-5 earnings are available, but the current federal record does not provide a usable institution-wide average net price.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Most students study without distance-education courses.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- City
- Admissions
- Not reported
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in California run 11% above the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
Not availableAverage net price / year
Not availableCost of attendance
$20,825Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$221/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$147,667Median earnings · year 5 after completion
Not availableCompletion rate
Not availableAdmission rate
718Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Samuel Merritt University
What does Samuel Merritt University cost?
The current federal record does not provide a reliable average net price for Samuel Merritt University.
What do Samuel Merritt University graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $147,667 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Samuel Merritt University graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $20,825. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Samuel Merritt University worth the same?
No. The current release contains 7 field-and-degree records for Samuel Merritt University; 7 report year-4 earnings and 1 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
2,454Students enrolled at any point
1,101Undergraduate students
1,353Graduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Completion rate not reported
97% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
48 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
90% making progress in repayment after three yearsStudent family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$146,851Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$135,916Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$145,722Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower income90%
Middle incomeNot reported
Higher incomeNot reported
Undergraduate student composition
White24%
Black6%
Hispanic28%
Asian25%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$119,508Year 1
$148,182Year 4
$147,667Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Medicine · Doctoral Degree$165,8292Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Master's Degree$155,5873Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Bachelor's Degree$148,1934Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing · Doctoral Degree$147,0555Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions · Master's Degree$144,5776Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions · Doctoral Degree$94,8137Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions · Master's Degree$90,854Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingBachelor's Degree · $148,193 reported+67%vs same-degree national median$25,000federal debt2MedicineDoctoral Degree · $165,829 reported+40%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt3Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical NursingMaster's Degree · $155,587 reported+29%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsMaster's Degree · $90,854 reported+27%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsDoctoral Degree · $94,813 reported+14%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt6Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment ProfessionsMaster's Degree · $144,577 reported+14%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in CA
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
Pasadena, CA
California Institute of Technology
- Annual net price
- $16,075
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $136,775
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +276%
Stanford University
- Annual net price
- $13,807
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $132,900
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +274%
Harvey Mudd College
- Annual net price
- $35,924
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $154,095
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +237%
Claremont McKenna College
- Annual net price
- $28,849
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $108,186
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +114%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 7 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medicine | Doctoral Degree | $165,829 | Not available | 34 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Master's Degree | $155,587 | Not available | 0 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Bachelor's Degree | $148,193 | $25,000 | Not reported |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | Doctoral Degree | $147,055 | Not available | 38 |
| Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions | Master's Degree | $144,577 | Not available | Not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Doctoral Degree | $94,813 | Not available | 79 |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Master's Degree | $90,854 | Not available | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.