Barnard College
Private College in New York, NY. Six-year graduation rate 93%. Median 10-year earnings $80,516.
A decade after enrolling, the median Barnard College student earns $80,516 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 93% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $18,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. Mobility is where this school separates itself: 3.5% of students move from the bottom income quintile to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.22 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 93% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 9% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
Barnard College admits just 9% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. With 11,836 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is high — 69% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. The score bands below rest on the 35% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 730–770 | 248 (35%) |
| SAT Math | 740–790 | |
| ACT Composite | 32–34 | 109 (15%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Barnard College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 93% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 97% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. 3,430 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,179 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,407 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,600 at $0–30k versus $51,378 at $110k+. 36% get grants, which means the net price above will not apply to most applicants. About 28% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 700 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $11,600 |
| $30–48k | $15,374 |
| $48–75k | $19,094 |
| $75–110k | $24,753 |
| $110k+ | $51,378 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 881 of these 3,179 students, totalling $4,319,307 — an average of $4,903 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (New York County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)