Villa Maria College
Private College in Buffalo, NY. Six-year graduation rate 32%. Median 10-year earnings $38,857.
Students who entered Villa Maria College reach a median of $38,857 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Only 32% finish within six years, so roughly two in three students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,250, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 32% — below national average
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 87%, Villa Maria College takes nearly everyone who applies. Only 999 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 24% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Villa Maria College →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 32% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 76% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. 25% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 536 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,823 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $13,049 at $0–30k versus $25,069 at $110k+. 99% of students get grant aid averaging $18,596, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 53% 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 · 141 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 | $13,049 |
| $30–48k | $13,265 |
| $48–75k | $12,274 |
| $75–110k | $12,775 |
| $110k+ | $25,069 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 285 of these 536 students, totalling $1,868,405 — an average of $6,556 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)