Private nonprofit · Community college

Alaska Pacific University

Anchorage, Alaska · Large city

17%
Transfer rate
$21,616
Avg net price
47%
Grad / completion
$54,271
Median earnings

Alaska Pacific University is a private nonprofit associate-granting institution in Anchorage, Alaska (large city setting), enrolling 457 undergraduates. It has a United Methodist religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 457 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 96% admitCold wintersSnowyNear the coast

About Anchorage, Alaska

Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. Archaeological evidence discovered at Beluga Point just south of Anchorage, along the Turnagain Arm, suggests that habitation of the Cook Inlet began 5,000 years ago by a group of Alutiiq people who arrived by kayak. Anchorage's largest economic sectors include transportation, military, municipal, state and federal government, tourism, corporate headquarters (including regional headquarters for multinational corporations) and resource extraction. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
4 miles to Anchorage, AK
To the ocean
4 miles
Nearest airport
2 miles to Merrill Field (MRI)

How Alaska Pacific University compares

Selectivity96.5%

More selective than 24% · #3 most selective of 3 in Alaska

Graduation rate47%

Higher than 34% · #4 of 7 in Alaska

First-year retention68%

Higher than 40%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$54,271

Higher than 93% · #1 of 7 in Alaska

Average net price$21,616

Cheaper than 27% · #6 cheapest of 7 in Alaska

Median debt at graduation$23,500

Lower than 3%

Student–faculty ratio7 : 1

Lower than 92%

Undergraduate enrollment457

Larger than 61%

Percentiles compare Alaska Pacific University with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Alaska.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

571students
  • Undergraduate45780%
  • Graduate11420%

Undergraduates by gender

457undergrads
  • Women28863%
  • Men16937%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White32%
  • Black4.8%
  • Hispanic8.5%
  • Asian8.1%
  • Other or multiracial47%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
457
Graduate enrollment
114
Student–faculty ratio
7 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
32%
First-generation students
Students over 25
54%
Median family income
$38,810
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$65,988
Endowment
$102,841,132

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Cost

In-state tuition
$20,760
Room & board
$8,932
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$34,026
Average net price
$21,616

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Admissions

Admission rate
96.5%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
47%
Graduated on time (4 years)
36%
First-year retention
68%
Transferred to another college
17%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$47,803
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$54,271
Median debt at graduation
$23,500
Students with federal loans
40%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
53%

About 11% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
36%
Low-income (Pell)
38%
First-generation
38%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
91
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
20%
Application fee
$35

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
0
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (593 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$19,404
$30–48k
$13,365
$48–75k
$16,037
$75–110k
$110k+
$31,181

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$69,808

$16,037/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

96%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$8,797
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 96% — get grant money from Alaska Pacific University itself, averaging $8,797, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 23 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$54,271
Typical debt at graduation
$23,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
43%
Out-earn a HS grad
60%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$50,647
Men
$62,981

Men out-earn women by $12,334 (24%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
69°F
Winter low
3°F
Annual rain
17.8″
Annual snow
59.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
-10°40°80°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.63.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Campbell Creek Sci Ctr, AK US station (2.1 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Alaska Pacific University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Alaska Pacific University side by side →

Colleges near Alaska Pacific University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.