Research brief & institution hub

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

NYSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #506 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences #506 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a private nonprofit university in Albany, New York, built around Health Professions and Biological Sciences. The fit is narrow and specific, for a student who wants a health-sciences education on a small campus and expects to work in the field after graduating.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes most of that to a remainder it does not explain rather than to the factors it measures.

Return is among the highest we track, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable schools. The price case is mixed.

The lowest income band pays below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, and access is below the levels seen at many peers.

A family should weigh the net price against the earnings picture carefully. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
52.7%
Six-year completion[2]
67.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$113,282

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$29,395
Median student debt[4]
$25,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$39,900

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

In Albany, New York, Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences enrolls 481 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university. Its overall standing sits above the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (the 66th percentile).

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences admits 52.7% of those who apply, a rate below the 75.7% median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who begin full time, 85.8% come back for a second year, a share above the 74.2% median at comparable institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 67.5%, which is above the 54.9% median for comparable institutions. An estimated 38.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so that rate describes only a portion of the student body.

A large share of undergraduates did not begin here. Return is the strongest , at the 95th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 14th percentile.

Access and mobility sit between them, with access at the 24th percentile and mobility at the 48th percentile. The four pillars are spread far apart.

Azimuth evaluates Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Return is the strongest, in the 95th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, in the 14th percentile. Access sits in the 24th percentile and mobility in the 48th percentile.

Pell Grants go to 28.9% of undergraduates at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,110 and 1,380, while the ACT middle 50% ran from 23 to 31.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences sits at #1,115 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among Pell recipients, 68.9% finish within six years, a rate 1.4 percentage points above the overall cohort rate (67.5%).

Azimuth places the university at #764 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#506

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 48
Access & reach
National percentile: 24
Affordability
National percentile: 14
Return on investment
National percentile: 95

01 / Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences briefing

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is $54,899, with tuition and fees of $41,475 and room and board of $12,500. For aid recipients, the average net price—what students pay after grants and scholarships—is $29,882, which is $7,535 above the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving a gap that varies by income. The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $11,349, with the lowest band averaging $22,404 and the highest $33,753.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,221 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 14th percentile, the weakest of the four pillars for this institution.

The published cost of attendance is $54,899. Azimuth ranks Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences #1,221 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $22,404, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $29,395, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $33,753. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,349.

Published tuition and fees are $41,475. Aid covers about 46% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $25,017 against the sticker price.

The across all aid recipients is $29,882, which is $7,535 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $25,500 in federal student loans.

That is $500 above the median for comparable institutions. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $39,900 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $290 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$29,395

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Federal-loan borrowers who complete a degree at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences leave with a median of $25,500 in federal student debt. That median is $500 above the $25,000 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $39,900.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences posts a median of $113,282 four years after completion, a figure that lands in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is $57,367 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students, a result at the 99th percentile. The median federal debt at completion is $25,500, $500 above the peer median.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $290 a month.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $39,900. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $290 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$25,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$39,900

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$290/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$507/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences briefing

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences earn a median of $113,282 four years after completion. That median is in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That places the university's return pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is $57,367 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap sits in the 99th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,678. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $33,663.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, graduates of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences earn a median of $113,282 four years after completion. The measurement comes from an earnings cohort of 95 completers and sits at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students. That result is at the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

An estimated 30.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. Both the raw median and the gap against the model's expectation point the same way.

The median earnings four years after completion sit at $113,282, in the 99th percentile nationally. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $55,915, a gap of $57,367 above.

Azimuth ranks Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences #76 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 99th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,678.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $33,663. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $395.

An estimated 30.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates. The institution has 1 program with published four-year earnings data.

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration graduates earn a median of $84,423 four years after completion, from 40 degrees awarded a year.

The published cost of attendance at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is $54,899. Graduates earn about $36,341 more than the model expects for similar students.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients ranges from $22,404 in the lowest income band to $33,753 in the highest, a spread of $11,349. Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $25,500 in federal student loans.

That is $500 above the peer median of $25,000 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $290 a month.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $39,900 in Parent PLUS loans. The return pillar is at the 95th percentile, while affordability is the weakest of the four pillars at the 14th percentile.

Strong earnings and a modest debt load sit alongside a net price that runs above the peer median.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,678
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$33,663
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$36,341

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences briefing

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences admits 52.7% of applicants. The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is 75.7%, so the university is more selective than its peers.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
52.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
1110
Reported average
1252
Approximate upper endpoint
1380

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences briefing

What are the largest majors at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences?[12]

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences is a focused institution. Health Professions accounts for 81.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and Biological Sciences makes up the remaining 18.8%.

The only program with published four-year earnings is Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, which is also the largest by degrees awarded. Its graduates earn a median of $84,423 four years after completion, from 40 degrees awarded a year.

That figure sits at 0.72x the national median for the field. With only one program reporting earnings, the page cannot show the spread between higher- and moderate-earning fields that a broader institution would reveal.

Health Professions accounts for 81.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Biological Sciences second at 18.8%. The university has 1 program with published four-year earnings.

Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration is the largest single program at 40 degrees a year.

Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences awards bachelor's degrees almost entirely within the health and biological sciences. Health Professions accounts for 81.2% of degrees awarded, with Biological Sciences making up the remaining 18.8%.

The largest single program is Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration, at 40 degrees a year. It is also the highest-earning program, with graduates reporting a median of $84,423 four years after completion.

That earnings figure sits at 0.72x of the national median for the field. Across all programs, 12.4% of degrees are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · five largest reported fields
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration 40 degrees awarded
$84,423
Public Health 14 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions 11 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology 10 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other 5 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences briefing

What colleges are similar to Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

Admissions peerState University of New York at New Paltz61.6% admitted
Comparison with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MeasureAlbany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesState University of New York at New Paltz
Peer earnings · 4 years$113,282$56,933-$56,349 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Average annual net price$29,882$18,809-$11,073 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences · lower cost
Admission rate52.7%61.6%
Explore State University of New York at New Paltz →
Higher-admission alternativeRensselaer Polytechnic Institute63.5% admitted
Comparison with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MeasureAlbany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Peer earnings · 4 years$113,282$98,311-$14,971 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Average annual net price$29,882$36,228+$6,346 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences · higher cost
Admission rate52.7%63.5%
Explore Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute →
Nearby alternativeRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteNearby option · NY
Comparison with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MeasureAlbany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Peer earnings · 4 years$113,282$98,311-$14,971 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Average annual net price$29,882$36,228+$6,346 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences · higher cost
Admission rate52.7%63.5%
Explore Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MeasureAlbany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$113,282$108,590-$4,692 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Average annual net price$29,882$6,128-$23,754 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences · lower cost
Admission rate52.7%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profileFranklin W Olin College of EngineeringMatched across several measures
Comparison with Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
MeasureAlbany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesFranklin W Olin College of Engineering
Peer earnings · 4 years$113,282$126,895+$13,613 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
Average annual net price$29,882$25,171-$4,711 vs Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences · lower cost
Admission rate52.7%25.2%
Explore Franklin W Olin College of Engineering →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings