Naropa University
Boulder, Colorado · Private Nonprofit · 100.0% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 9/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Naropa University earns a 9/100 ROI score and the Below Benchmark tier. The earnings premium is NEGATIVE 5.4%. The 999-year payback period is the algorithm's flag that earnings effectively never recoup cost. Net price averages $29,179 against a $36,620 sticker, with a $116,716 four-year total. Median federal debt is $24,712, producing a 1.261 debt-to-earnings ratio - borrowers owe more than they earn annually. Completion is 36.7%, very weak. The honest framing: Naropa is a Buddhist-influenced contemplative liberal-arts institution serving a self-selecting student body drawn to its meditation-based curriculum and contemplative psychology programs. The school produces students whose post-graduation life is defined by lower-earning vocational paths in counseling, contemplative arts, and religious/spiritual practice.
How Naropa University scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score9/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Debt-to-earnings1.26 - Median debt is larger than one year of average earnings six years after entry (a ratio above 1.0).
- 6-year graduation rate36.7% - The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our score, since a degree that is not finished rarely pays back.
- Payback period>50 years - In our estimate, the earnings premium over a high school completer is small next to the cost, so the cost may not be recouped within a working career.
Naropa University
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $36,620/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $36,620/yr |
| Average net price | $29,179/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $116,716 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $28,720 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $19,600 |
| Median debt at graduation | $24,712 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $262 |
| Estimated payback period | >50 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 36.7% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 339 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $36,620/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $29,179/year, or roughly $116,716 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $21,457/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $46,397/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $24,712, which works out to about $262 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($19,600) and comes to 1.26, 1.0 or higher, meaning median debt is at least a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $21,457 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $33,397 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $21,817 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $45,897 |
| $110,001+ | $46,397 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning under $30,000 pay $21,457 net price. With $19,600 average six-year earnings, net price exceeds annual graduate earnings. Pell-eligible students (the majority at Naropa, 51%) layering the federal grant face a still-meaningful gap. Across four years, $85,828 net cost sits against a negative earnings premium.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Middle-income brackets show extreme bracket inversion - a serious data anomaly. The $30K-$48K bracket pays $33,397, the $48K-$75K bracket pays $21,817 (LESS than both lower and higher brackets), and the $75K-$110K bracket pays $45,897. This zigzag pattern is highly unusual and likely reflects small-cohort statistical noise (Naropa is tiny) rather than actual aid policy. Families should treat the published figures as unreliable and run the school's own net-price calculator.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Households above $110,000 pay $46,397 - HIGHER than the $36,620 sticker tuition, indicating the school estimates non-tuition costs (housing, fees, supplies) push total cost-of-attendance above sticker. Over four years that's $185,588 net for high-income families. Given $28,720 ten-year median earnings, only families with substantial discretionary wealth and clear non-financial reasons should make this choice.
Earnings by Major
Top 1 most popular majors at Naropa University with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | $43,238 | F |
Earnings reflect median 4-year post-completion (or 1-year where 4-year unavailable). Grades based on debt-to-earnings ratio.
Program Analysis
Why these programs deliver their earnings outcomes.
Psychology
Psychology is Naropa's only program with sufficient graduate volume for tracking. Graduates earn $17,708 one year out, climbing to $43,238 four years out. Median debt is $33,250 against a 1.878 debt-to-earnings ratio and an F grade. With 33 graduates, this is a meaningful cohort. Many graduates likely intend to pursue Naropa's well-regarded contemplative psychology graduate programs, where master's-level licensure delivers better earnings - but the bachelor's-only outcome is severely negative.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 62.8% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 67.7% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 70.2% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 66.7% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Naropa University’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 100.0% |
| Enrollment | 339 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 51.4% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $5,935 |
Naropa admits 100% of applicants - effectively open enrollment. SAT and ACT mid-ranges are not reported in current Scorecard data, consistent with the school's holistic admissions process and small enrollment that makes statistical reporting unreliable. The 36.7% completion rate is consistent with what one would expect from full-acceptance admissions: many admitted students prove not to be a fit and depart, often without a credential.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naropa University (this school) | 9 | $29,179 | $28,720 |
| Colorado College | 70 | $33,375 | $65,222 |
| Colorado Christian University | 34 | $29,500 | $50,416 |
| Southwestern Christian University | 14 | $20,146 | $40,391 |
| Voorhees University | 8 | $13,335 | $35,339 |
| Arkansas Baptist College | 4 | $10,627 | $28,418 |
Who Thrives Here
The student body is largely older returning learners and adults drawn by Naropa's contemplative curriculum, somatic psychology, and Buddhist-influenced approach. Fit profile: students for whom Naropa's specific intellectual/spiritual frame is the entire point and who can afford or willingly accept the financial reality of low post-graduation earnings. This is fundamentally not an economic-ROI school; framing it as such is a category error.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Naropa University scores 9/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $29,179 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $28,720 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, its 36.7% graduation rate, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.26 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a three-year loan repayment rate of 67.7% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Median debt of $24,712 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $19,600 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.26. That is 1.0 or higher, meaning median debt is at least a full year of those earnings, so your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Naropa University: Common Questions
Is Naropa University worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Naropa University scores 9/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $29,179 a year after aid against $28,720 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Naropa University cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $29,179 a year, or roughly $116,716 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Naropa University graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $28,720 ten years after enrolling, at or below the $41,800 median for high-school graduates (NCES, 2022). With little earnings gap to cover the cost, the financial return is hard to make.
How long does it take to pay off Naropa University?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at more than 50 years for Naropa University. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Naropa University graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $24,712, against average earnings of $19,600 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 1.26. That is 1.0 or higher, meaning median debt is at least a full year of those earnings, so how much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Naropa University?
The six-year graduation rate is 36.7%. The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.