State University
of New York at New Paltz
Public College in New Paltz, NY. Six-year graduation rate 72%. Median 10-year earnings $58,073.
Ten years after entry, the median State University of New York at New Paltz student earns $58,073 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate of 72% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $18,750 in debt — in line with the national norm. It also moves people — 3.7% 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.32 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 62% puts State University of New York at New Paltz on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is large — 17,232 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield is low at 11%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 12% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 600–690 | 135 (12%) |
| SAT Math | 570–650 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–29 | 37 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at State University of New York at New Paltz →Academics
A 72% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 85% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Transfer-out runs to 20% — common enough at this school that the completion rate is measuring a smaller group than the entering class. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,022 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $18,051 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $10,541 at the $0–30k band to $26,256 at $110k+. About 61% get grants averaging $9,612, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 45% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 1,115 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 | $10,541 |
| $30–48k | $13,969 |
| $48–75k | $20,178 |
| $75–110k | $21,937 |
| $110k+ | $26,256 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,732 of these 6,022 students, totalling $17,308,600 — an average of $6,336 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Ulster 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)