
San Sebastian, PRprivate nonprofitwww.edpuniversity.edu/
Admit rate has ranged 90%–97% over the last 5 years. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian is a small, private institution in a Puerto Rican suburb that operates on a fundamentally open-access model. Its identity is built around providing practical, career-oriented education—particularly in nursing and technology—to a predominantly local student body, with a focus on affordability and accessibility over selectivity or prestige. The campus experience is intimate and functional, with outcomes that reflect its mission to serve students who might otherwise be shut out of higher education.
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
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Outcomes & value
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (field-of-study earnings). Figures cover graduates who received federal aid and lag ~2 years; not all programs report data.
Compare on earnings: best colleges for Communications · best colleges for Nursing
Campus & location
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023).
Admissions at EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian are best described as inclusive rather than selective. With an of 96%, the institution practices a near-open-door policy, admitting nearly all who apply. In 2024, the school received 188 undergraduate applications, a number that has seen modest growth. The process is straightforward: the university does not require SAT or ACT scores for admission, though a high school GPA is considered. The average GPA of enrolled freshmen is reported around 3.25 to 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. This highly accessible approach stands in contrast to its sister campus in San Juan, which has a notably lower acceptance rate of about 61%, indicating San Sebastian's specific role as the more accessible entry point within the EDP system.
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
The academic focus is unapologetically vocational, designed to funnel students directly into specific careers. The most popular majors reflect this practical bent:
The curriculum is delivered in a close-knit environment, with a student-to-faculty ratio reported at 9:1 for the EDP system, suggesting the potential for personalized attention in smaller classes. The university offers a range of majors, with the San Juan campus listing 25 available programs, which may be representative of the system's offerings. The institutional priority is clearly on skill acquisition and professional certification over broad liberal arts exploration, positioning itself as a direct pipeline to the regional workforce.
With a total undergraduate enrollment of about 970 students, the San Sebastian campus is small and likely commuter-focused, creating a community that is more functional than residential. The gender distribution is skewed, with 28.7% male students. Campus life appears organized around a handful of traditional activities and essential services rather than a sprawling extracurricular scene. Available resources and organizations include:
Outcomes data paints a clear picture of the university's mission and the economic landscape its graduates enter. The graduation rate is a central challenge, with figures reported between 29% and 42.6%, indicating that a significant portion of students do not complete their degrees. For those who do persist, the financial return is modest. The median earnings for alumni ten years after entry are $22,844. Some sources note that graduates from specific, high-demand programs like Registered Nursing can earn more, with one source citing an average annual earning of $25,494 for the overall cohort and suggesting nursing graduates fare better. The median debt for students who borrow is $14,000. These figures underscore the institution's role in providing accessible entry into post-secondary education and the workforce, with outcomes heavily influenced by program choice and degree completion.
Affordability is a cornerstone of the EDP University value proposition. The published tuition and fees are $14,125, but very few students pay this sticker price. The average —what students actually pay after grants and scholarships—is dramatically lower. A massive 94.5% of students receive financial aid. The average total aid awarded is $8,715 per year. For the lowest-income students (family income $0-$30,000), the average net price drops to about $5,639. The university's stated goal for its financial aid program is to "provide low income students with equal educational opportunities through financial support." Aid packages typically include federal Pell Grants, work-study, and federal student loans. This aggressive discounting makes the institution financially accessible to the population it aims to serve, even as it contends with the graduation and earnings outcomes that follow.
EDP University of Puerto Rico Inc-San Sebastian stands out not for elite rankings or sprawling campuses, but for its unwavering commitment to a specific, underserved demographic. It is an engine of local social mobility, offering a low-barrier, high-support entry point into professional fields like nursing and technology. Its 96% and deeply subsidized are not signs of low standards, but of a clear mission: to say 'yes' to students who might hear 'no' elsewhere. While its graduation rates and median earnings reflect the very real challenges its students face, the university provides a critical on-ramp. In a higher education landscape obsessed with exclusivity, San Sebastian's distinctiveness lies in its radical accessibility, serving as a pragmatic, community-anchored alternative for Puerto Rican students seeking a direct path to a career.



