One of the things I love about HPU is that it attracts great talent. There is a reason Dean Cain has a student going there and Barbara Corcoran was also checking it out. They know that students need academics and life skills to really succeed. I love how students get exposed to Apple’s Wozniak and Netflix’s founder. Check it out
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It is definitely a unique place. Extremely expensive with a low average starting salary and a low graduation rate. Might be worth it with a large financial aid package.
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Actually it has a 99% placement rate which is one of the highest in the country. Actually, the salary info is highly skewed. The more digging I did, it it is government data, and it’s very old data (for a school like HPU that has transformed itself so quickly, the data can’t keep up). And that data only uses a subset of students receiving federal aid, not a true range of an alumni class. It’s interesting because the outcomes rate for HPU is 99%. Among the highest rates in the nation. And it’s based on a national standard. So HPU is focused on getting their grads prepared for the real world. It’s the highest outcomes rate I’ve found. Many schools we’ve looked at don’t even share that number or if they do, have made it challenging for me to find.
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It would be helpful for those considering HPU if you could share a link to the outcomes and starting salaries reported by HPU.
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High Point University doesn’t publish a Common Data Set, which frankly can be interpreted to mean that it contains information HPU considers to be unflattering or damaging.
Per IPEDS, only 82% of freshmen who enrolled in Fall 2020 returned in Fall 2021—that’s closer to what you’d see at many “directional” publics than a flagship or elite private—and the four-year graduation rate for the class that entered in Fall 2015 was 65%, which is a big red flag.
Appreciate that they are making moves and are a good fit for some, but understand that there is something about their approach and relentless self-hype that is very off-putting for others, especially in the absence of transparency.
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College Scorecard, from the feds, has a little bit of info on salaries at High Point: College Scorecard | College Scorecard
The median earnings at High Points are $54,945 ($50,391 being the midpoint for 4-year colleges). Those earnings, however, are based on, “The median annual earnings of individuals that received federal student aid and began college at this institution 10 years ago, regardless of their completion status.” Since more specific earnings info wasn’t included for any major, it may be that too few students received federal financial aid in each major to actually have shareable data? Not sure, but that is one data point.
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Publishing First Destination Surveys is common practice at many universities around the country. There is no identifying student information. Frankly it was a red flag for us when we were looking at schools if that data wasn’t available to prospective students. HPU’s “success stories” is not a FDS.
Typically FDS include % of students employed, going to grad school, or still looking; geographical distribution of jobs and grad schools; average salaries; top employers.
Here’s what Purdue’s FDS looks like: https://www.purduecco.com/single-post/first-destination-survey. Note that it can be further broken down by major in the Data Dashboard link.
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Good points.
I wonder if the OP, who apparently created a new account to share info on HPU, will contribute more to the thread and perhaps provide more verifiable information.
I admit, I do not know much about HPU other than what I’ve read on CC, so I’m willing to listen to current families. It does seem to appeal to a very specific demographic. If it is graduating happy kids with successful outcomes, that is what ultimately matters. But it is important for anyone considering HPU to understand its unique approach and the realities of its current academic offerings (e.g. the thread on no-ABET accreditation).
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I am just a mom who has had two children at HPU. I am sure if you contact the school they can give you all of that information. I just shared what I had asked for and they shared with me above.
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I find it curious that the school refuses to publish its common data set. Wonder what they don’t what people to know?
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They only want people to know what they send you when you call them asking for information. 
High Point was never on DS’s list of colleges due simply to a lack of program for him but over the course of his Junior year I have to say the amount of mail he would get from HighPoint became a bit of a turn-off. At least once and sometimes multiple times per week we would get some sort of mailer from them. Seemed either desperate or confused in their target market (we’re also 1,000 miles away).
Taking nothing away from HP on the outcomes of the kids that come from there as I really don’t know - but I also wouldn’t default to a college being good or bad based on someone like Dean Cain or Barbara Corcoran sending their kid there!!
I’d be suspicious of any college bragging that Barbara Corcoran was “checking it out.” She was a straight-D student according to her biography. Sure, she’s a successful entrepreneur, but that’s completely unrelated to the pursuit of higher education and being a scholar.
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Plus there is Dean Cain’s son. No offense to either, but if these are the examples of attracting “great talent,” then maybe it is not such a selling point.
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Even the most supportive and flattering articles about HPU report that large financial aid packages are highly unlikely there. Their debt is almost as high as their endowment, and they receive very little income from investments or other financial vehicles. They financially depend on tuition from full-pay students.
Their model may change in the future, but as others have said it’s hard to judge progress or direction when they don’t release a CDS.
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They’re in debt from all the mailers they sent to my home over the span of 18 months!
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This place has been a game changer for my timid, shy, introverted daughter. Within her first year, she not only found her voice, and came out of her shell, but also a passion for a field she wasn’t confident was the right onea due to the amazing staff and professors at HPU!
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The rah-rah about High Point is such a turnoff for me. I think this is the only school that get these gushing, glowing, better-than-anything, over the top glowing comments. Always from a user that has just registered. I see that this poster added these comments to at least 2 of the HPU posts. Though, I guess this is no different than the shiny marketing materials.
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It’s different because with the shiny marketing materials, there is transparency of authorship, motivation, and purpose.
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