Prescott College
Prescott, Arizona · Private Nonprofit · 94.5% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 30/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Prescott College, a private nonprofit in Prescott, AZ, posts a 30 ROI score in the Below Benchmark tier. Sticker tuition is $35,685, but net price drops to $22,583 - a meaningful $13,000 in average aid. The headline weakness is earnings: average six-year earnings are $28,500, rising to a median $42,359 by year 10. Payback period is 31.3 years and the earnings premium over high-school baseline is just 8.1%. Debt-to-earnings sits at 0.572 - moderate, supported by a manageable $16,300 median debt - and the completion rate is 55.6%. The repayment rate is 62%. With enrollment of just 219 and a 42% Pell rate, Prescott runs as a small, mission-driven (environmental/experiential) liberal arts college where the price-to-earnings math is challenging.
How Prescott College 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 Score30/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Payback period31.3 years - The median payback across the schools we score is about 12 years.
Prescott College
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $35,685/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $35,685/yr |
| Average net price | $22,583/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $90,332 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $42,359 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $28,500 |
| Median debt at graduation | $16,300 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $173 |
| Estimated payback period | 31.3 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 55.6% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 219 |
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: $35,685/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $22,583/year, or roughly $90,332 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 $22,542/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $25,444/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $16,300, which works out to about $173 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($28,500) and comes to 0.57, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than 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 | $22,542 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $19,587 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $16,537 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $24,832 |
| $110,001+ | $25,444 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Households at $0-$30,000 pay $22,542 net - nearly the same as the median net price, meaning low-income aid does not meaningfully reduce the cost. At $28,500 average early earnings, low-income families would carry a 4-year cost roughly 3x annual graduate income, a difficult ratio. The $30,001-$48,000 band pays slightly less ($19,587).
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Inverted brackets to flag: $48,001-$75,000 pays $16,537 - the lowest net price of any income band, lower than what $0-$30,000 households pay. This reverse-progressive aid pattern is unusual and likely reflects merit-aid leverage at the upper-middle band. $75,001-$110,000 jumps to $24,832, the more typical middle-class price.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Households above $110,000 pay $25,444, the top bracket. With a 4-year cost over $100,000 against $42,359 ten-year median earnings, high-income families need to weigh the experiential-learning and small-cohort value as a premium - because conventional ROI math at this price doesn't clear.
Earnings by Major
Top 1 most popular majors at Prescott College with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | $29,888 | 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 the only reported program with 22 graduates, $29,888 median first-year earnings, no four-year earnings reported, $31,334 median debt, a 1.048 debt-to-earnings ratio, and an F ROI grade. Career paths likely route through graduate school (clinical, social work, counseling) where the bachelor's serves as a launching point rather than a terminal credential - but on first-job arithmetic alone, the program is a difficult sell.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 52.3% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 61.8% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 60.8% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 66.8% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Prescott College’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 | 94.5% |
| Enrollment | 219 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 41.6% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $4,764 |
Admission rate is reported at 94.5%, which is essentially open admission. SAT and ACT scores are not reported - Prescott is test-optional or test-blind by policy, consistent with its progressive academic posture. The combination of near-universal admission and a 55.6% completion rate means students self-select on values fit (environmental focus, experiential learning) rather than academic credentials, and roughly half persist to graduation.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prescott College (this school) | 30 | $22,583 | $42,359 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott | 76 | $40,287 | $84,131 |
| Kehilath Yakov Rabbinical Seminary | 33 | $3,822 | $36,442 |
| Arizona Christian University | 30 | $32,839 | $51,612 |
| Yeshiva Gedolah Imrei Yosef D'spinka | 22 | $5,646 | $36,545 |
| Rabbinical College of America | 20 | $15,628 | $34,990 |
Who Thrives Here
Prescott fits students drawn to environmental studies, social justice programs, and field-based experiential learning who can afford the $22,583 net price and who value those program differentiators above starting-salary maximization. Enrollment of 219 makes this an unusually small undergraduate community; 42% Pell rate signals significant low-income enrollment despite the high sticker. Outcomes look strongest for students leveraging the school's identity into nonprofit, conservation, or graduate-school pathways rather than direct private-sector employment.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Prescott College scores 30/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $22,583 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $42,359 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at about 31.3 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, a three-year loan repayment rate of 61.8% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Median debt of $16,300 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $28,500 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57, under the 1.0 point at which debt would equal a full year of those earnings. Your major matters a lot here: graduates in higher-earning fields will see the better end of this.
Prescott College: Common Questions
Is Prescott College worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Prescott College scores 30/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $22,583 a year after aid against $42,359 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at about 31.3 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Prescott College 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 $22,583 a year, or roughly $90,332 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 Prescott College graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $42,359 ten years after enrolling, roughly $559 a year more than the median high-school graduate ($41,800, per NCES, 2022). That earnings gap is what has to cover the cost of the degree.
How long does it take to pay off Prescott College?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at about 31.3 years for Prescott College. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Prescott College graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $16,300, against average earnings of $28,500 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.57. In our view that is reasonable, though your major matters: higher-earning fields will see the better end of it.
What is the graduation rate at Prescott College?
The six-year graduation rate is 55.6%. 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.