SUNY Buffalo
State University
Public College in Buffalo, NY. Six-year graduation rate 33%. Median 10-year earnings $52,334.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $52,334 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $21,028 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Graduation rate 33% — below national average
Admissions
73% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. With 18,219 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. Yield is low at 9%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. 9% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the 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 | 490–630 | 115 (9%) |
| SAT Math | 490–610 | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at SUNY Buffalo State University →Academics
Only 33% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential. Just 58% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 40% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. Retention drops to 36% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,358 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $12,023 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $7,405 while those at $110k+ pay $19,332. Grant aid reaches 82% of students at an average of $10,130. Federal borrowing reaches 51% of students.
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 · 1,445 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 | $7,405 |
| $30–48k | $9,393 |
| $48–75k | $14,706 |
| $75–110k | $17,155 |
| $110k+ | $19,332 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,754 of these 5,358 students, totalling $17,011,973 — an average of $6,177 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Erie 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)