Houghton University
Private College in Houghton, NY. Six-year graduation rate 68%. Median 10-year earnings $46,721.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $46,721 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 68% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,250, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
Admission is not the constraint here: 89% of applicants are accepted. Only 1,041 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 23% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 24% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 600–695 | 51 (24%) |
| SAT Math | 570–680 | |
| ACT Composite | 26–31 | 7 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Houghton University →Academics
68% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 84%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 755 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $21,274 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Income makes less difference than usual: $19,147 at $0–30k, $22,424 at $110k+. 95% of students get grant aid averaging $9,037, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 62% take federal loans.
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 · 234 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 | $19,147 |
| $30–48k | $18,503 |
| $48–75k | $19,312 |
| $75–110k | $19,974 |
| $110k+ | $22,424 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 471 of these 755 students, totalling $2,893,278 — an average of $6,143 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Allegany 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)