Campus Highlights

N.C. A&T is State’s Most Affordable Campus, With Alumni Early Career Salaries among Highest

New rankings from Money magazine offer great news for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University students and families as the academic year begins.

The magazine’s “Best Colleges for Your Money 2018” rankings include 21 North Carolina campuses, and of those, North Carolina A&T is the most affordable, with an estimated annual cost to attend for 2018-19 of $18,300. When the university’s average annual financial aid award is factored in, that price tag drops to $10,300 – again, best among North Carolina schools included in the listing.

With college costs rising across the country – 74 schools included in the rankings had estimated annual costs to attend in excess of $70,000 – affordability is of increasing concern to students and parents.

“We understand the importance of cost and work to keep an A&T degree affordable for the growing number of students who choose our university,” said interim associate vice provost for enrollment management Jacqueline Powers. “That’s why we are increasingly a first-choice university for outstanding students, particularly those interested in the STEM programs for which our university is nationally known.”

The value of the A&T experience shows up strongly in the magazine’s calculation of early career earnings. Three years after graduation, A&T graduates have an average salary of $49,300, tying them for third in the University of North Carolina System with alumni of UNC at Charlotte. Alumni from North Carolina State ($53,800) and UNC Chapel Hill ($51,200) ranked slightly higher.

It's the second-consecutive year that A&T alumni score highly in that earnings evaluation. Last year, A&T alumni ranked second in the UNC System in early career earnings, trailing only N.C. State.

The Money rankings are created using data from the U.S. Department of Education, PayScale.com and Peterson’s college guide in conjunction with the magazine’s college measures calculations. Only 727 of the nation’s colleges met the magazine’s inclusion criteria, which required financial health, solid data, an enrollment of at least 500 and a graduation rate at or above the median for its institutional category.