College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Alfred University

NYSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1194 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

An access-led profile with a weaker overall return picture.

Who it’s a good fit for

Alfred University is a private nonprofit university in Alfred, New York, where Engineering and Visual & Performing Arts lead the degree mix. Access is the strongest , though it sits modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that shortfall to the factors it measures, which subtracts from expected earnings, and the remainder it cannot explain also subtracts.

Return is below the levels seen at many peers. Pell Grant recipients complete at nearly the same rate as the entering cohort as a whole, within a few points.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost. The highest band pays closer to it, so the aid structure does the most work at the bottom of the income scale.

The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest program, Fine and Studio Arts, should know that the best-paid programs are in engineering fields.

Alfred University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
73.8%
Six-year completion[2]
57.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$58,242

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$22,125
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$20,269

Alfred University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Alfred University is a private nonprofit university in Alfred, New York, enrolling 1,423 undergraduates. Its composite standing is in the bottom fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 73.8% of applicants, a rate close to the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 77.5% return for a second year, above the peer median of 74.2%.

57.0% finish within six years, above the peer median of 54.9%. An estimated 13.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time full-time cohort and not the full student body.

The four pillars are spread across the lower half of the ranking. Access is the strongest and return is the weakest, while mobility and affordability sit between them.

No single pillar pulls far ahead of the others, giving the university a profile where the strengths and weaknesses are relatively balanced.

Alfred University's clearest showing is access, but return is the part of its profile that most warrants caution. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar sits in the 44th percentile, the university's strongest pillar.

Mobility is in the 37th percentile, affordability in the 27th percentile, and return in the 20th percentile, its weakest result. Access is comparatively stronger, though the lower return and affordability results complicate the overall picture.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,095 and 1,310. For the ACT, the middle 50% ranged from 24 to 29.

38.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access. Azimuth ranks Alfred University #824 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar draws on the Pell share and on how Pell Grant recipients fare once enrolled. Those students complete at a rate of 56.6%, which is 0.4 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #927 for mobility. Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Alfred University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,194

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 37
Access & reach
National percentile: 44
Affordability
National percentile: 27
Return on investment
National percentile: 20

01 / Alfred University briefing

Alfred University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Alfred University, the published cost is $57,445, but aid recipients average $25,620 in net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. Tuition and fees are listed at $41,500, with room and board at $15,380.

Average aid savings total $31,825 against the published price. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median net price of $22,347, placing this university $3,273 above that middle value.

Azimuth places its affordability pillar in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The higher peer comparison and the affordability percentile point to a cost picture that remains less favorable after aid than at comparable institutions.

Alfred University posts a published cost of attendance of $57,445. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,512 for families earning under $30,000, $22,125 for those earning $48,001-$75,000, and $33,388 for families earning over $110,000.

The gap from the lowest to highest band is $16,876. In Azimuth's comparison of nonprofit four-year institutions, the university ranks #1,032 for affordability.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 55% of the published cost, offsetting $31,825 from the sticker price. The all-recipient is $25,620.

That is $3,273 above the peer median net price of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Published tuition and fees are $41,500, and room and board are $15,380.

The aid offset is substantial, though the average price after aid remains above the comparable-institution midpoint. Federal-loan borrowers who completed leave with median federal student loan debt of $26,000, and 96.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, placing the university's median $1,000 above that figure. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,269.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$22,125

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Alfred University

Borrowing is widespread at Alfred University: 96.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, making the debt figures relevant to most undergraduate borrowers. For borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $26,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the median federal debt is $25,000, and Alfred University's figure is $1,000 above it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,269.

Access is the strongest pillar at Alfred University, but its return figures give a more cautious picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled report median earnings of $58,242 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also ranks in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students.

The downside scenario is $41,139 and the upside scenario is $79,473; the typical scenario matches the reported median earnings. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $26,000, which is $1,000 above the $25,000 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Below-expected earnings and debt above the peer median point in the same direction.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $20,269. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 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
$26,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$20,269

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$258/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 / Alfred University briefing

Alfred University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Field choice matters when reading Alfred University’s return figures. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth puts that earnings-beyond-expectations measure in the 22nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,352. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,807.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $58,242 four years after completion, in the 44th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $55,915, and the university’s median is above it by $2,327. The peer comparison and model expectation point in different directions.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings at Alfred University are $58,242 four years after completion. Azimuth places that measure in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on 609 completers.

The typical earnings scenario, based on the program mix, is $58,242. An estimated 26.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

These figures describe a defined federally aided cohort, not what every alumnus earns. The median and typical scenario align, while graduate study remains an estimate rather than an observed destination.

For Alfred University, return measures pull in different directions: earnings are above comparable peers but below the model's expectation. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $58,242 four years after completion, placing them in the 44th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915; Alfred's figure is $2,327 above it. Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 22nd percentile. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,352. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,807.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,868. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put the downside at $41,139 and the upside at $79,473.

Above-peer earnings and below-expected earnings leave a mixed return picture. Program earnings range widely across the fields with published outcomes.

Ceramic Sciences and Engineering is the highest-earning listed field, with 15 degrees awarded and median earnings of $83,641 four years after completion. Fine and Studio Arts was the largest program, awarding 69 degrees, and its median earnings were $38,877 four years after completion.

Earnings can differ widely depending on the program mix. The downside earnings scenario is $41,139, compared with an upside scenario of $79,473; these are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Among programs, median earnings four years after completion are $83,641 in Ceramic Sciences and Engineering, $79,452 in Mechanical Engineering, and $71,845 in Engineering. Those program results help explain the breadth of the modeled range.

Access is Alfred University’s strongest pillar, but its cost-and-earnings picture calls for close attention. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,000.

That is above the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—of $25,000, by $1,000. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, add to that caution. Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $25,620. It stands above the $22,347 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $3,273.

Debt above peers, a higher net price, and below-expected earnings point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$1,352
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,807
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$9,159

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 / Alfred University briefing

Alfred University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At 73.8%, Alfred University's admission rate sits below the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size). It records the share admitted from the reported entering-class applicant pool.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
73.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1095
Reported average
1279
Approximate upper endpoint
1310

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 / Alfred University briefing

What are the largest majors at Alfred University?[12]

At Alfred University, program-level earnings four years after completion differ sharply between technical fields and several larger arts and social-science fields. Ceramic Sciences and Engineering records median earnings of $83,641 and 15 degrees awarded.

Mechanical Engineering follows with $79,452 in median earnings and 58 degrees awarded. At a more moderate level, Psychology has median earnings of $47,445 across 34 degrees awarded, while Fine and Studio Arts records $38,877 and 69 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that the earnings picture depends substantially on field.

Engineering accounts for 26.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded at Alfred University, making it the largest program family. Published program results show a wide range across the university's larger fields. The larger fields therefore do not share a single earnings pattern.

The bachelor's degrees at Alfred University are spread across a distinctive mix of technical and creative fields. Engineering accounts for 26.9% of degrees awarded, followed by Visual & Performing Arts at 18.4% and Business at 16.5%.

The university has 10 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Fine and Studio Arts, at 69 degrees awarded, with Mechanical Engineering close behind at 58 and Psychology at 34.

The highest-earning program is a specialized one: Ceramic Sciences and Engineering graduates earn a median of $83,641 four years after completion, from 15 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, the next largest program, also reports median earnings of $79,452.

Engineering graduates earn $71,845, though the program awards only 13 degrees a year. Business Administration and Management, at 33 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $61,629.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in engineering and its offshoots, with the largest program in the arts earning less than half of what the top engineering fields do. 27.4% of degrees are in STEM, and the engineering family is the largest on campus.

Fine and Studio Arts graduates earn a median of $38,877 four years after completion.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Fine and Studio Arts 69 degrees awarded
$38,877
Mechanical Engineering 58 degrees awarded
$79,452
Psychology, General 34 degrees awarded
$47,445
Business Administration, Management and Operations 33 degrees awarded
$61,629
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 29 degrees awarded
$49,612
Ceramic Sciences and Engineering 15 degrees awarded
$83,641

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 / Alfred University briefing

How does Alfred University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion is a brighter part of Alfred University’s mobility picture than modeled earnings. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 57.0%, above the peer median completion of 54.9%, the middle value for comparable institutions in the same type and size.

Pell recipients complete within six years at 56.6%, below the overall rate by 0.4 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 22nd percentile. Graduates earn about $9,159 less than the model expects for similar students.

The return picture is mixed: completion exceeds the peer median, but earnings fall short of the model.

Alfred University enrolls 1,423 undergraduates and admits 73.8% of applicants, making access its strongest Azimuth pillar. Pell Grant recipients account for 38.5% of undergraduates, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 13.3% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission rate, Pell participation, and transfer estimate describe access across application, enrollment, and transfer entry.

06 / Alfred University briefing

What colleges are similar to Alfred University?[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 Alfred University.

Admissions peerUniversity at Buffalo74.2% admitted
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversityUniversity at Buffalo
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$71,430+$13,188 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$20,995-$4,625 vs Alfred University · lower cost
Admission rate73.8%74.2%
Explore University at Buffalo →
Higher-admission alternativeHilbert College97.2% admitted
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversityHilbert College
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$53,063-$5,179 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$22,723-$2,897 vs Alfred University · lower cost
Admission rate73.8%97.2%
Nearby alternativeKeuka CollegeNearby option · NY
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversityKeuka College
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$58,373+$131 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$24,338-$1,282 vs Alfred University · lower cost
Admission rate73.8%68.1%
Higher-earnings alternativeRoberts Wesleyan University$64,802 earnings
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversityRoberts Wesleyan University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$64,802+$6,560 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$23,130-$2,490 vs Alfred University · lower cost
Admission rate73.8%70.6%
Lower-cost alternativeSUNY Buffalo State University$11,346 average net price
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversitySUNY Buffalo State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$53,203-$5,039 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$11,346-$14,274 vs Alfred University · lower cost
Admission rate73.8%73.0%
Explore SUNY Buffalo State University →
Similar profileBryn Mawr CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Alfred University
MeasureAlfred UniversityBryn Mawr College
Peer earnings · 4 years$58,242$57,476-$766 vs Alfred University
Average annual net price$25,620$31,759+$6,139 vs Alfred University · higher cost
Admission rate73.8%29.4%

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