Russell Sage College
Private College in Troy, NY. Six-year graduation rate 56%. Median 10-year earnings $58,316.
Ten years after entry, the median Russell Sage College student earns $58,316 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 56%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $22,000, neither a bargain nor a burden. It also moves people — 2.0% 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
At 53%, the acceptance rate makes Russell Sage College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. 2,471 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 Russell Sage College →Academics
56% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 78% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The 10:1 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.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,069 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,046 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $6,662 while those at $110k+ pay $26,526. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $24,874. Most students borrow — 79% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 190 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 | $6,662 |
| $30–48k | $41,141 |
| $48–75k | $21,326 |
| $75–110k | $24,302 |
| $110k+ | $26,526 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 844 of these 1,069 students, totalling $5,597,850 — an average of $6,633 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Rensselaer 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)