Colgate University
Hamilton, New York
- Private nonprofit
- Rural
- 3,180 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 14%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $29,409per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 90%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $96,32810 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Students from families earning $175,000 or less generally attend Colgate tuition-free.
Colgate requires and guarantees on-campus student housing for all four years.
In Colgate's Core Curriculum, students take Core Conversations, a course centered on five shared texts across cultures and eras.
All first-year and sophomore students live within their assigned Residential Commons.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 14%About 1 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1430–1540Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 33–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Colgate University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
69% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 3.85. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- Admit rate in this report
- 18%3,030 admitted of 17,310 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 36%477 admitted of 1,342. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Off the wait list
- 2%23 admitted of 1,281 who stayed on the wait list (2,381 were offered a spot)
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1450–151023% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–3516% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 79%96% were in the top quarter. Based on the 17% whose school ranks.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
Important
- Test scores
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
Considered
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Interview
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Colgate University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Colgate University Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $29,409full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $91,222sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $73,646Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 90%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 93%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $96,32810 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $12,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 3,180Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 15%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 18%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Yeshiva University New York, NY — admits 56%
- Siena University Loudonville, NY — admits 69%
- Molloy University Rockville Centre, NY — admits 82%
- St. Joseph's University-New York Brooklyn, NY — admits 72%
Also worth a look
- Barnard College New York, NY — admits 9%
- Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY — admits 21%
- Hamilton College Clinton, NY — admits 14%
- Middlebury College Middlebury, VT — admits 11%
- Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY — admits 19%
- Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO — admits 18%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Colgate University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.