The Cooper
Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Private College in New York, NY. Six-year graduation rate 81%. Median 10-year earnings $83,847.
A decade after enrolling, the median The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art student earns $83,847 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 81% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates leave owing a median of $15,000 — modest by four-year standards. It also moves people — 4.3% 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 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 81% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
This is a highly selective admit: 21% of applicants receive an offer. The applicant pool runs to 1,806, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is high — 52% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate. 31% 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 | 653–748 | 61 (31%) |
| SAT Math | 642–753 | |
| ACT Composite | 28–34 | 16 (8%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art →Academics
A 81% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. Retention is strong at 92%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 8:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. At 901 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 891 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $26,283 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $3,749 while those at $110k+ pay $25,870. Most students get help: 100% receive grants worth $37,977 on average. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 21% 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 · 186 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 | $3,749 |
| $30–48k | $6,904 |
| $48–75k | $10,457 |
| $75–110k | $16,682 |
| $110k+ | $25,870 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 189 of these 891 students, totalling $1,099,796 — an average of $5,819 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (New York 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)