Pillar College
Private College in Newark, NJ. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $45,577.
Ten years after entry, the median Pillar College student earns $45,577 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 35% graduate within six years. Graduates carry a median of $21,483 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 35% — below national average
Academics
Only 35% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. 74% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 14:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 469 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $8,024 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($15,139 versus $19,030), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 97% of students receive it, averaging $16,763. About 43% 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 · 105 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 | $15,139 |
| $30–48k | $7,114 |
| $48–75k | $3,181 |
| $75–110k | $4,411 |
| $110k+ | $19,030 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 204 of these 469 students, totalling $1,588,946 — an average of $7,789 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Essex County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Heightened Cash Monitoring (Financial Responsibility); School placed on Heightened Cash Monitoring
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)