State University
of New York at Plattsburgh
Public College in Plattsburgh, NY. Six-year graduation rate 59%. Median 10-year earnings $56,403.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $56,403 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 59%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $21,196 in debt — in line with the national norm. 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
An acceptance rate of 78% puts State University of New York at Plattsburgh on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 8,830 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. A 12% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 540–640 | 51 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 540–610 | |
| ACT Composite | 22–28 | 9 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at State University of New York at Plattsburgh →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 59%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 73% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 28% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The part-time picture is harder: 38% return, against 73% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,789 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $15,412 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $9,400 at $0–30k versus $24,611 at $110k+. About 74% get grants averaging $10,570, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 58% take federal loans.
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 · 776 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 | $9,400 |
| $30–48k | $12,121 |
| $48–75k | $17,076 |
| $75–110k | $17,655 |
| $110k+ | $24,611 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,192 of these 3,789 students, totalling $14,616,356 — an average of $6,668 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Clinton 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)