Colgate University

Overview

Rankings

• #3 Best Biology Colleges in New York
• #4 Best Colleges in New York
• #4 Best Bachelor's Programs in New York
• #4 Best Master's Programs in New York
• #4 Best Psychology Colleges in New York
• #7 Best Computer Science Colleges in New York
• #7 Best Data Science Colleges in New York
• #10 Best Colleges in Mid-Atlantic

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Colgate University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Hamilton, New York, Colgate University sets a competitive bar: about 14% of applicants get an offer. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,508. The graduation rate is roughly 91%.

Acceptance Rate

14%

Retention Rate

93%

SAT Average

1508

ACT Midpoint

33

SAT Range

1430–1540

ACT Range

33–34

Full-Time Faculty

93%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$13,098

Student–Faculty Ratio

9:1

Diversity Index

0.56

First-Gen Students

18%

Applicants

21,109

Admitted

2,624

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Colgate University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 29% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school many admits weigh against other offers.

Yield Rate

29%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

23%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

14%

of enrolled freshmen

Early Decision Admit Rate

19.5%

vs 13.9% overall

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Colgate University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Colgate University is $70,306, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $28,786. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $6,086 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $15,000 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$70,306

Out-of-State

$70,306

Avg Net Price

$28,786

Median Debt

$15,000

Pell Grant Rate

13%

Federal Loan Rate

12%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Colgate University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Colgate University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Colgate University earn a median of $85,139, well above the national average for bachelor's degree holders.

6 Years After Entry

$64,949

8 Years

$74,696

10 Years

$85,139

Debt-to-Earnings

0.18x

Earning > $25K

79%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Colgate University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Colgate University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.87%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 2.4% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 36.5% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $208,900, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.87%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

36.5%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

2.4%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$283,822

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Colgate University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Colgate University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.86, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (0.01), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 9% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.86

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

0.01

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

9.4%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Colgate University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 30 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.74%

Top 30% nationally

Patents Produced

30

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

30

Downstream influence

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$6,311,363

Investment Income

$-47,368,978

Top Programs

The fields Colgate University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Social Sciences 34% $80,791 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 15% $50,050 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 9% $78,624 early-career
• Psychology 8% $56,154 early-career
• Physical Sciences 5%
• English & Literature 4% $43,782 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 3%
• Mathematics & Statistics 2%

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.