Colgate University
Private College in Hamilton, NY. Six-year graduation rate 91%. Median 10-year earnings $85,139.
A decade after enrolling, the median Colgate University student earns $85,139 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 91% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $15,000, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 91% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Admit rate 14% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
Colgate University admits just 14% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. 20,682 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. About 29% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. The score bands below rest on the 22% 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 | 710–760 | 184 (22%) |
| SAT Math | 720–780 | |
| ACT Composite | 33–34 | 116 (14%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Colgate University →Academics
A 91% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 93%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The 9:1 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. With 3,131 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,122 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $28,736 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. The income table below is the number that matters — $6,086 at $0–30k versus $48,234 at $110k+. Grant aid is limited — 47% of students receive any. 12% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 807 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 | $6,086 |
| $30–48k | $2,678 |
| $48–75k | $13,617 |
| $75–110k | $21,831 |
| $110k+ | $48,234 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 384 of these 3,122 students, totalling $1,921,911 — an average of $5,005 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Madison County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Accreditation
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)