Private nonprofit · University

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo

Arecibo, Puerto Rico · Small suburb

#4 graduation rate in Puerto Rico
93.8%
Admit rate
$11,117
Avg net price
54%
Graduation rate
$24,908
Median earnings

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Arecibo, Puerto Rico (small suburb setting), enrolling 273 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It has a Roman Catholic religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 273 undergradsSmall suburbAccessible · 94% admitMild wintersNear the coast

About Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Arecibo is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. Arecibo was officially founded as a town by the Spanish crown on May 1, 1616, under the governorship of Captain Felipe de Beaumont y Navarra, when the King of Spain granted the land (and the Taino living there) to Lope Conchillos. Arecibo began celebrating its patron saint festival in 1616. Arecibo celebrates its patron saint festival in May. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small suburb
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
38 miles to San Juan, PR
To the ocean
3 miles

How Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo compares

Selectivity93.8%

More selective than 15% · #21 most selective of 27 in Puerto Rico

Graduation rate54%

Higher than 48% · #4 of 37 in Puerto Rico

First-year retention87%

Higher than 81%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$24,908

Higher than 1% · #22 of 37 in Puerto Rico

Average net price$11,117

Cheaper than 87% · #30 cheapest of 37 in Puerto Rico

Median debt at graduation$15,500

Lower than 89%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment273

Larger than 15%

Percentiles compare Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Puerto Rico.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

615students
  • Undergraduate27344%
  • Graduate34256%

Undergraduates by gender

273undergrads
  • Women16059%
  • Men11341%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • Hispanic100%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
273
Graduate enrollment
342
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
69%
First-generation students
31%
Students over 25
34%
Median family income
$10,990
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$38,943
Endowment
$3,886,731

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 25 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Puerto Rico100%

Most first-years stay in state — Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo draws overwhelmingly from Puerto Rico.

Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
93.8%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$6,550
Room & board
Books & supplies
$3,624
Total cost of attendance
$18,678
Average net price
$11,117

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

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
54%
Graduated on time (4 years)
28%
First-year retention
87%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$20,637
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$24,908
Median debt at graduation
$15,500
Students with federal loans
28%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
26%

About 26% 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
28%
Low-income (Pell)
28%
First-generation
27%

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
No
Application fee
Free

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 (640 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
$10,939
$30–48k
$10,883
$48–75k
$15,333
$75–110k
$110k+

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
$72,241

$15,333/year × about 4.7 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.

32%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$710
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 32% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $710. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

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 37 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)
$24,908
Typical debt at graduation
$15,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
62%
Out-earn a HS grad
18%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

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
$22,868
Men
$28,444

Men out-earn women by $5,576 (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
91°F
Winter low
64°F
Annual rain
78.2″

Average temperature

HighLow
50°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.05.110JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Dos Bocas, PR RQ station (7.6 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 Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo side by side →

Colleges near Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico-Arecibo

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.