State University
of New York at Cortland
Public College in Cortland, NY. Six-year graduation rate 68%. Median 10-year earnings $60,236.
Students who entered State University of New York at Cortland reach a median of $60,236 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate of 68% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. 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.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 60% of applicants are offered a place. The applicant pool is large — 17,571 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. A 13% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at State University of New York at Cortland →Academics
68% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 81%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 25% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,896 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $19,847 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,550 at the $0–30k band to $25,853 at $110k+. About 58% get grants averaging $8,363, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 61% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 1,216 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 | $12,550 |
| $30–48k | $16,453 |
| $48–75k | $20,102 |
| $75–110k | $21,636 |
| $110k+ | $25,853 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,582 of these 5,896 students, totalling $22,477,170 — an average of $6,275 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cortland 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)