Syracuse University
Private Research University in Syracuse, NY. Six-year graduation rate 84%. Median 10-year earnings $79,164.
A decade after enrolling, the median Syracuse University student earns $79,164 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 84% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $26,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree. On economic mobility, 2.9% of students travel from the bottom income quintile 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 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 84% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Syracuse University admits 46% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly one in two applicants are turned away. 44,480 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 22% 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 | 640–720 | 861 (22%) |
| SAT Math | 630–720 | |
| ACT Composite | 29–32 | 357 (9%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Syracuse University →Academics
84% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 90% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. With 15,739 undergraduates, this is a large institution — expect the administrative scale and the range of offerings that come with it.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 15,239 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $48,215 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $15,817 while those at $110k+ pay $55,401. About 79% get grants averaging $33,569, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Federal borrowing reaches 33% 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 · 3,663 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 | $15,817 |
| $30–48k | $15,845 |
| $48–75k | $21,132 |
| $75–110k | $28,780 |
| $110k+ | $55,401 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 5,102 of these 15,239 students, totalling $31,795,651 — an average of $6,232 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Onondaga 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)