Pennsylvania State University
Large comprehensive public research
| Source | Score |
|---|---|
| QS | 61 out of 100 |
| THE | 66 out of 100 |
| USC | 63 out of 100 |
| USG | 70 out of 100 |
| ARWU | 65 out of 100 |
| CWUR | 75 out of 100 |
| Niche | 0 out of 100 |
| Leiden | 0 out of 100 |
Ranking history
Real snapshots recorded each time this dataset is refreshed — never backfilled or estimated.
| Date | Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| August 3, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 4, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 5, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 6, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 7, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 10, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 15, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 17, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
| August 20, 2026 | #165 | 88.3 |
Admissions
Most recently published acceptance rate and enrolled-student score ranges. SAT/ACT and GPA are US-specific admissions measures, so they're only shown where applicable.
Campus & outcomes
Class size, graduation and freshman retention rates, sticker tuition vs. what students actually pay after aid, how many receive it, post-graduation employment, research output, and a few real, commonly-cited top recruiters. Everything except ratio and enrollment is US-specific or approximate — papers/year and top employers in particular are rounded/illustrative, not exhaustive or precise database exports. Earnings figures and what they imply against cost are in their own section below.
Earnings after graduation
Median earnings for this institution's graduates (2024–25 published figures) and what they imply against its cost. US-reported figures — the concept doesn't translate for universities outside the US, which is why they show nothing here.
How to read these numbers
- Medians, not averages, and not your salary. Half of graduates earn less. The spread within a single university is far wider than the gap between most universities.
- Institution-wide, across all majors. Much of the difference between two universities' figures reflects what their students study — an engineering-heavy institute out-earns a liberal arts college largely through major mix, not teaching quality. Per-major earnings aren't in this dataset; the US federal College Scorecard publishes them for US federal-aid recipients.
- Geography and selectivity are baked in. Graduates often work near where they studied, so regional cost of living inflates or deflates these figures, and selective intakes would earn well regardless of where they enrolled.
- Payback is arithmetic, not a plan. It divides 4-year net price by early-career median and ignores aid you personally receive, loan interest, taxes and living costs.
Graduate & professional schools
Penn State has 1 ranked professional programme. These admit separately from the university and are ranked separately from it — a band here says nothing about the university's overall position above, or the reverse (2025–26 rankings cycle).
Subject strengths
An Analects Proverbs editorial estimate — derived from this university's specialty and overall standing, not pulled from a named subject ranking.
| Source | Score |
|---|---|
| CS | 81 out of 100 |
| Eng | 78 out of 100 |
| Business | 83 out of 100 |
| Medicine | 85 out of 100 |
| Law | 81 out of 100 |
| Sciences | 78 out of 100 |
| Social | 82 out of 100 |
| Arts | 82 out of 100 |
Similar universities
Close in overall rank, and weighted toward the same country and type — a starting point for students who like Pennsylvania State University but want options to compare.
Frequently asked questions
What is Pennsylvania State University's ranking?
Pennsylvania State University ranks #165 on Analects Proverbs's combined score of 88.2/100, aggregated across 6 major published rankings.
What is Pennsylvania State University known for?
Large comprehensive public research. Its strongest subject areas, by our editorial estimate, are Medicine, Business, Social Sciences.
What is Pennsylvania State University's acceptance rate?
Pennsylvania State University's acceptance rate is approximately 49%, based on the most recently published admissions cycle.
What SAT or ACT scores does Pennsylvania State University expect?
Enrolled students typically score in the 1160–1380 range on the SAT, or 25–30 on the ACT (25th–75th percentile, most recent published cycle).
How much does it cost to attend Pennsylvania State University?
Pennsylvania State University's published annual tuition is approximately $19,672, though the average net price after institutional aid is closer to $25,000 per year.
What is Pennsylvania State University's graduation rate?
Pennsylvania State University's published 6-year graduation rate is approximately 86%.
What do Pennsylvania State University graduates typically earn?
Early-career graduates report a median starting salary of around $65,000, rising to roughly $125,000 at mid-career.