North Carolina Central University
Durham, NC
North Carolina Central University is a public, historically Black university in Durham, North Carolina, a large city, with 6,081 undergraduates. Criminal justice is its signature field: 12% of its bachelor's degrees, about five times its share across the colleges we cover. 42% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $42,968 ten years after starting.
North Carolina Central University admitted 15,971 of 18,363 applicants for the fall 2024 entering class (87%).
- Acceptance rate
- 87%
- Fall 2024 class
- In-state tuition
- $6,699
- $19,735 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $15,359
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 17–18
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2024 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What North Carolina Central University is known for
Measured by the 980 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Criminal justice
11.6%
of its bachelor's degrees: about five times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Social Sciences12212.4% of degrees$43,859−18% vs $53,366 nationally
- Criminal Justice and Corrections11411.6% of degrees$48,443−13% vs $55,378 nationally
- Business Administration, Management and Operations10610.8% of degrees$54,999−19% vs $68,257 nationally
- Psychology9910.1% of degrees$44,053−13% vs $50,706 nationally
- Biology616.2% of degrees$54,192−5% vs $57,214 nationally
- Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences596.0% of degrees$46,136−5% vs $48,460 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Durham, NC
Undergraduates
6,081
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, larger programs
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
16 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
0%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at North Carolina Central University
Two things North Carolina Central University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
0% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 0% sent an ACT. North Carolina Central University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Families paid $15,359 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
87%
15,971 admitted of 18,363 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 500–570Math 480–530
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
17–18
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Average GPA of admitted students
3.25
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
0%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
0%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Where do you actually stand at North Carolina Central University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What North Carolina Central University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $6,699 ($19,735 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $26,556. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $15,359 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$6,699
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$19,735
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$26,556
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$15,359
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $26,556 full cost.
- Under $30k$13,032Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$13,882Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$17,527Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$22,401Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$23,658Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
42%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
73%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$42,968
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$28,250
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Over 5 years the admit rate rose from 47% to 90%.
What North Carolina Central University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Essay
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Early ActionOctober 15, 2026
Verified July 16, 2026
- Early Action 2November 15, 2026
Verified July 16, 2026
- Regular DecisionJanuary 15, 2027
Verified July 16, 2026
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in North Carolina
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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