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Private College

Niagara University

Private College in Niagara University, NY. Six-year graduation rate 75%. Median 10-year earnings $56,196.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Niagara University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$56,196
Median debt at grad
$25,475
Mobility score
1.5
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
74.5%
Federal loan default
0%

The median ten-year earnings figure of $56,196 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 75% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $25,475 in debt — in line with the national norm.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
87%
Applicants
4,197
Yield rate
14.5%

Niagara University admits 87% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 4,197 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. A 15% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 17% 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 530–625 91 (17%)
SAT Math 530–610
ACT Composite 22–28 14 (3%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Niagara University →

Academics

Full-time retention
80%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
10:1

75% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 80% 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. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. 2,747 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$16,613
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
86%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
55%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,712 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price after grant aid is $16,613 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $9,564 while those at $110k+ pay $22,990. Most students get help: 86% receive grants worth $29,617 on average. Borrowing is widespread: 55% 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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$33,575

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 578 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 $9,564
$30–48k $11,510
$48–75k $17,322
$75–110k $20,355
$110k+ $22,990

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 1,496 of these 2,712 students, totalling $10,336,681 — an average of $6,910 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Niagara County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,105/mo
1 bedroom
$1,139/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,343/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
86
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Niagara University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Niagara University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →