Butler University

Overview

Rankings

• #2 Best Psychology Colleges in Indiana
• #3 Best Business Colleges in Indiana
• #3 Best Communications Colleges in Indiana
• #5 Best Online Colleges in Indiana
• #7 Highest-Paying Colleges for Psychology
• #7 Best Nursing Colleges in Indiana
• #7 Best Education Colleges in Indiana
• #8 Best Biology Colleges in Indiana

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Butler University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Indianapolis, Indiana, Butler University admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 85%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,274. The graduation rate is roughly 80%.

Acceptance Rate

85%

Retention Rate

87%

SAT Average

1274

ACT Midpoint

28

SAT Range

1160–1350

ACT Range

26–31

Full-Time Faculty

100%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$9,694

Student–Faculty Ratio

11:1

Diversity Index

0.40

First-Gen Students

13%

Applicants

13,386

Admitted

10,985

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Butler University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 13% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

13%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

35%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

19%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Butler University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Butler University is $47,560, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $36,041. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $25,278 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $26,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$47,560

Out-of-State

$47,560

Avg Net Price

$36,041

Median Debt

$26,000

Pell Grant Rate

15%

Federal Loan Rate

43%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Butler University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Butler University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Butler University earn a median of $77,235, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$61,627

8 Years

$71,943

10 Years

$77,235

Debt-to-Earnings

0.34x

Earning > $25K

80%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Butler University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Butler University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.00%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 2.1% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 47.7% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $121,500, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.00%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

47.7%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

2.1%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$165,076

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Butler University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Butler University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.76, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 8% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.76

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

8.3%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Butler University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 12 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.52%

Top 43% nationally

Patents Produced

12

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

7

Downstream influence

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$2,046,000

Investment Income

$-15,176,000

Top Programs

The fields Butler University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 28% $58,290 early-career
• Communications 12%
• Health Professions 11% $121,153 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 9%
• Social Sciences 8% $48,104 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 8%
• Education 7%
• Psychology 7%

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.