Union College
Private College in Schenectady, NY. Six-year graduation rate 80%. Median 10-year earnings $88,604.
Ten-year median earnings of $88,604 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. The six-year graduation rate of 80% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $25,337 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 80% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
At 44%, the acceptance rate makes Union College a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. 8,210 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 14%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. The score bands below rest on the 32% 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 | 660–720 | 161 (32%) |
| SAT Math | 650–760 | |
| ACT Composite | 29–33 | 56 (11%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Union College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 80% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 90%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 9:1 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 2,082 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,070 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $42,137 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $11,776 at $0–30k versus $45,017 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 93% of students receive it, averaging $40,693. About 44% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 550 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 | $11,776 |
| $30–48k | $16,415 |
| $48–75k | $23,941 |
| $75–110k | $34,100 |
| $110k+ | $45,017 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 909 of these 2,070 students, totalling $5,515,130 — an average of $6,067 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Schenectady 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)