Canisius University
Private College in Buffalo, NY. Six-year graduation rate 66%. Median 10-year earnings $60,681.
Students who entered Canisius University reach a median of $60,681 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. Completion is a strength: 66% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $24,250, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. It also moves people — 2.4% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 72% puts Canisius University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool runs to 4,175, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 13%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Canisius University →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 66% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention is 73% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. A 23% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. A 11:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,774 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $19,666 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,781 while those at $110k+ pay $24,170. Grant aid is widespread — 98% of students receive it, averaging $22,549. Federal borrowing reaches 54% of students.
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 · 423 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 | $12,781 |
| $30–48k | $12,404 |
| $48–75k | $16,151 |
| $75–110k | $21,341 |
| $110k+ | $24,170 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 958 of these 1,774 students, totalling $5,910,629 — an average of $6,170 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Erie 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)