Rutgers University-Newark
Public Research University in Newark, NJ. Six-year graduation rate 64%. Median 10-year earnings $74,479.
Students who entered Rutgers University-Newark reach a median of $74,479 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 64% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $21,500, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 71% puts Rutgers University-Newark on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. With 36,793 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is low at 7%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 Rutgers University-Newark →Academics
64% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 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. 18% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. At 14:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,187 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,276 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $16,420 while those at $110k+ pay $33,018. Grant aid is widespread — 85% of students receive it, averaging $15,780. About 33% 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 · 1,403 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 | $16,420 |
| $30–48k | $16,338 |
| $48–75k | $17,806 |
| $75–110k | $22,867 |
| $110k+ | $33,018 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,359 of these 7,187 students, totalling $18,154,866 — an average of $7,696 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
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)