Who This University Is and Where It Stands
When the Carnegie system classifies the country's universities, it places Xavier among master's universities, with medium-sized programs, four-year programs, and a highly residential setting. That last word matters: it means that at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students live in housing owned by or affiliated with the institution, and that at least 80 out of every 100 attend full time. In its undergraduate profile, Carnegie also places it in the selective-admission group.
If your child will live on campus, keep this in mind: living there is not the same as paying tuition. Room and board are charged separately, and they almost never appear together in the same brochure that advertises the price of classes. Ask for that amount separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other.
Xavier is in New Orleans, Louisiana, within Orleans Parish, in the New Orleans-Metairie metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. That does not tell you how to get to campus or what it is like to live nearby—those are questions you need to ask. If your child plans to live at home and drive every day, do not trust the map: drive the route yourself on a weekday, at the exact time of the child's classes. The actual travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
It is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. IPEDS records the doctoral degree as the highest level it reports offering and classifies it as an institution primarily offering bachelor's degrees or higher. That is a broad institutional fact: it does not tell you whether the specific major your child is interested in is available there or whether it connects to a graduate program. You verify that program by program, not from the school's general name.
And here is something that deeply defines Xavier: in the official file from 2023, it is designated a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). Of the 3,012 institutions in that database, only 76 have that designation. It is a label that tells you where the school comes from and the mission with which it was founded—it does not tell you whom it admits today or what your child's experience there will be. Being an HBCU does not make a school better or worse. Do not read it as a verdict: ask what student center exists, which scholarships apply, and who will answer your phone call in April when you have questions.
The Size of the Community Your Child Would Join
Xavier had 3,181 students enrolled in the official fall count: a medium-sized institution compared with similar schools. Of that total, 2,591 were undergraduates and 590 were graduate students—it is primarily a bachelor's-degree institution.
Now, here is something every Latino family should know before reading further: among Xavier's undergraduates, only 4 out of every 100 students identified as Hispanic or Latino. Compared with 941 similar private schools, it falls in the bottom quarter—there are few, truly very few. That does not automatically remove it from your list, but it does change the question you should ask during a visit: what is available there for Latino students, whether there is a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the office who can speak Spanish with your child on a bad day. The number describes the school as a whole; your child's experience in a specific major may look different. But do not deceive yourself with empty hopes: here, being Latino means being part of a small minority.
Women, by contrast, are a clear majority: 76 out of every 100 undergraduate students. And there are almost no adult students—only 2 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old. Using the rounded figure, just 33 out of every 100 first-time students were permanent Louisiana residents; the rest come from other states or abroad, or their residency is unclear in the report. It is a school that attracts people from outside the state.
Being a medium-sized school does not mean your child will have more options, just as being small does not mean more personal attention. That is something to ask about the specific major, not infer from the institution's overall size.
How Academic Life Is Organized
Xavier's academic year is organized into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The institution stated that it accepts credit from AP exams, but it did not check the box for credit for life experience. It also reports accepting credit for military training and enrolling high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Saying that they accept AP does not mean they award credit for every exam. It does not say what scores they require, how many credits they award, or whether those credits count toward your child's major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
In the most recently reported year, Xavier awarded 429 bachelor's degrees across 18 academic program families. The family with by far the most degrees was biological and biomedical sciences: 163 of the 429, or 38 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. That is a pronounced concentration—between 30 and fewer than 50 out of every 100 bachelor's degrees came from that area. This is consistent with Xavier's reputation for preparing students for health careers, but remember: the distribution does not measure the quality of a specific program, only how many degrees came from that area. And 18 families with a row in the report do not equal 18 distinct majors with active offerings—a family may group several programs together, and a row may report zero. Verify the exact program that interests your child.
As for personal attention, the official ratio is 11 students for every full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. Compared with similar schools, it falls below the midpoint—a relatively low ratio. But be careful: this aggregate number does not by itself demonstrate that more staff are available to each student, and it says nothing about the actual size of first-year classes. It is an institutional average, not a promise about your child's classroom.
The Paths the University Reports Having Open
Xavier reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, noncredit developmental education, and several pathways related to teacher certification: preparation below the postsecondary level, preparation in certain teacher-specialization areas, and state approval of the program for initial teacher certification. These are structured opportunities the institution says it makes available. Their inclusion in the report does not tell you their scope, cost, or actual availability during the semester when your child would enroll—you need to ask admissions about each one specifically.
How the Entrance Process Works
Here is news many families do not expect: the published undergraduate application fee is $0. There is no cost to apply.
Xavier stated that it does not have open admission—there are parts of the application it reviews before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marked five as required: the high school transcript, the high school GPA, completion of the college-preparatory course plan the university requires, letters of recommendation, and an English-proficiency exam for those to whom it applies. Other components are not required but are considered if you submit them: your child's class rank, personal essay, and work experience. The report does not say how much weight each component carries in the final decision.
Letters of recommendation are required, so ask for them a month in advance. Give the teacher a sheet listing what your child has done over these years—no one remembers everything when writing fifteen letters in April.
Now, the figure people ask about most: of the 9,608 first-time applicants in the 2023 cycle, 7,156 were offered admission. That works out to 74 out of every 100—an accessible admission rate, slightly above the midpoint among comparable selective private schools. Put another way, although thousands of applications arrive, 74 out of every 100 receive a yes. Your child has a real reason to apply and a real reason to make sure the application is complete and on time. But remember: that percentage is from a single cycle, not a fixed rule at the school. When it is your child's turn, check the number again for that specific year.
Here is a figure that surprises many families: out of every 100 students admitted in 2023, only 10 enrolled. The other 90 do not appear as enrolled at Xavier—the data does not say whether they attended another university or what they did. Compared with similar schools, it is a low enrollment yield. But do not read it as a stain on the school: the fact that most admitted students did not enroll does not mean it is a bad option. The federal record does not explain why each family made its decision. What does matter is this: what others decided does not tell you what Xavier will offer your child. Wait for your child's own letter with the net price—that is the real number that determines whether the school stays on the list.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required at Xavier. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Among enrolled students, 26 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and among those students, the middle half scored between 500 and 568 in reading and writing and between 453 and 570 in mathematics. Those ranges describe students who had already enrolled and chose to submit scores—they do not represent all applicants, and they do not prove that the score was decisive in any admission decision. That 500 is not a minimum your child must reach, and that 568 does not guarantee anything either.
One fact is worth keeping in mind if your plan includes the possibility of changing schools later: of the bachelor's-degree-seeking cohort that entered in 2017, 36 out of every 100 (209 people) transferred to another institution without finishing at Xavier within the expected time. That proportion is on the high side compared with similar schools. Separately, in 2023, Xavier enrolled 74 students for the first time after they had studied elsewhere—a modest incoming transfer group. The data does not explain why those who leave do so, and the reason varies from family to family. But there is something almost no one tells you that matters here: a student who transfers is not counted as a Xavier graduate, even if that student finishes elsewhere. Keep that in mind when you look later at this university's graduation rates.
The Published Price and What Families Actually Pay
At Xavier University of Louisiana, among 246 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $15,365. Among 118 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $19,008; among 86 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $25,054. For dependent students, the band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (246 students) and the average for the highest-income band (86 students) is $9,689. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $17,874.
$15,365 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income bands on this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the aid letter sent to you. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school's website.
How Families Pay: Grants, Loans, and Other Options
At Xavier, 90 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something is the norm here, not the exception. Among those who received it, the year's average was $19,423—but that average was not distributed across all students, only those who received something.
The Pell Grant, for students with demonstrated financial need, reached 52 out of every 100 degree-seeking students—more than half. That is a high figure. But be careful not to read it as a promise: it is what happened with other students in a specific year, not your probability or your amount. Ask in writing which applications must be completed, what the deadlines are, and what happens to the grant if your child's grades fall.
Regarding loans, 55 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022–23 school year. Among those who borrowed, each borrowed an average of $6,328. Financing through debt is common here. Do the full calculation before signing anything: if your child borrows a similar amount each year for four years, the total comes to about $25,312, not including interest—and that decision is made before the first signature, not at the end. In addition, this average includes only federal loans in the student's name. It does not include PLUS loans signed by parents, bank debt, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt owed upon graduation—to calculate that, you would have to add all four years, and that number is not in this report.
Xavier also reports a tuition installment payment plan and participation in a Promise program, options worth asking the financial aid office about if paying all at once does not work for your family.
Life Outside the Classroom
Xavier does have its own housing and meal plans, although it does not require all first-year students to live on campus. IPEDS reports a maximum housing capacity of 1,691 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed; ask in writing for the year's rate, the application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed a place or placed on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, Xavier indicated opportunities in all three branches—Army, Navy, and Air Force. That is not common: of the 3,012 universities in this database, only 135 indicate all three. But the designation does not demonstrate that the program operates directly on this campus, how many spaces are available, or whether it provides a scholarship. Ask about each branch separately.
In athletics, Xavier competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), with reported membership in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not tell you how many places are available on each team or whether any sport offers scholarships—ask the coach directly, in writing.
Xavier also offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice only 2 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes that way; the other 98 take at least one course in person. The institution reports having at least one complete distance program, but that does not confirm that one exists specifically at the undergraduate level—confirm the exact level and major before assuming anything.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual spending exceeds the $100,000 threshold recorded by the government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that specific databases are available for your child's major—ask using the major's name.
Finally, Xavier reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for service members and their families, and a published web address for disability services. The fact that these services are reported does not measure their quality or effectiveness—you learn that by speaking with current students.
How Many Stay and How Many Finish
Now we come to the part that carries the most weight when you are deciding whether the effort and money are worthwhile.
Of the cohort that entered in fall 2022 (835 first-time, full-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students), 591 were still enrolled or had already completed their degree one year later: 71 out of every 100. This figure is slightly below the midpoint among similar schools. The report does not distinguish between “still here” and “already graduated” within that 71—we know only that neither situation is documented as dropping out, and that the status of the other 29 is unclear in the source.
After six years, of the 584 students who entered in 2017, 281 had earned a degree from Xavier: 48 out of every 100. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 36 out of every 100—a twelve-point difference, a reminder that many students need more than four years to finish. Compared with similar schools, Xavier falls below the group midpoint for six-year graduation.
It is almost literally half and half: after six years, 48 out of every 100 had earned a bachelor's degree from Xavier, and 52 had not. The report counts outcomes, not the reasons behind each individual's story. Before deciding, ask what concrete support the school offers to help students finish on time and how long, on average, the specific major that interests your child takes to complete. Also remember something we already saw: a student who transfers to another school and graduates there is not counted as a Xavier graduate in this figure.
There is a broader eight-year measure that includes both first-time students and those who already had prior college experience. Of that cohort of 804 students who entered between 2015 and 2016, 50 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from Xavier by the August 2023 reporting date. Compared with similar schools, this figure falls in the group's bottom quarter.
And here is a difference that every family qualifying for Pell should know: within that same cohort, among students who received a Pell Grant, only 44 out of every 100 left with a degree or certificate from Xavier within eight years—15 points fewer than students who did not receive Pell. This does not mean that your family, if it qualifies for Pell, is destined for that outcome. It is what happened with a specific cohort between 2015 and 2023. But if your circumstances resemble those students' circumstances, it makes sense to ask Xavier directly and specifically: is there an assigned counselor for students receiving Pell? Is emergency aid available? Does the institutional scholarship renew automatically each year, or must the student qualify again? Ask for the answers in writing.
What You Now Know and What Is Still Yours to Decide
You now know one of the three pieces you need to make a decision about Xavier University of Louisiana: what this university is according to its own official data. You know that it is an HBCU with a strong identity in the biological and biomedical sciences, a small Latino community, a high published price that is relatively low compared with similar schools, broad financial aid coverage, and graduation outcomes that are roughly midway compared with its peers.
You still need to combine this with what your child wants to study and what the child has accomplished so far in high school, as well as what your family can and is willing to pay. That combination—the university, the student, the family—is what creates a real plan. None of the three pieces alone leads to a complete decision.
If your child is about to begin building a college list, ask what the child wants to study and how far away the child imagines living. If Xavier is already on the short list, the next concrete step is to request the financial aid letter with the actual net price, rather than treating the figure of $41,754 as though it were the final bill. And if your child would be one of the few Latino students on that campus, it is worth speaking with someone already there before deciding—a current student will tell you things that no federal report can.
You are not alone at this stage of the journey, and you do not have to resolve everything today. You now have one solid piece of the map. You and your child will build the rest together.
The information in this article comes from Xavier University of Louisiana's official reports to the United States Department of Education's IPEDS system, primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, and from the Carnegie Classification based on 2019-20 data. Best College Aid does not represent Xavier University of Louisiana or the United States government; this article does not replace the admission and financial aid letter the university sends directly to your family.