College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Clarkson University

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #654 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Clarkson University in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Clarkson University is a private nonprofit university in Potsdam, New York, built around engineering. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes nearly all of that to the factors it measures, which add to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain also adds, by a much smaller amount.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. The published cost is high, and affordability is below the levels seen at many peers.

After grants and scholarships, the lowest income band pays well below the sticker price, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate slightly above the overall cohort, while access is modestly below average.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the degree mix is heavily oriented toward engineering and engineering technologies. A student drawn to the humanities or social sciences should know that those fields are a small part of the catalog here.

Clarkson University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
77.4%
Six-year completion[2]
74.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$91,312

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$23,321
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$36,890

Clarkson University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Clarkson University is a private nonprofit university in Potsdam, New York, enrolling 2,196 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (55th percentile).

Clarkson University admits 77.4% of applicants, against a peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. 84.8% return after the first year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

74.9% complete within six years, against a peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 10.6% 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 sit far apart. Return is the strongest, at the 90th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 13th percentile.

Mobility and access sit between them, at the 52nd and 25th percentiles respectively.

Clarkson University shows its clearest strength in return, but affordability is the part of the profile that most complicates the overall picture. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places return in the 90th percentile, the university’s strongest pillar, and access in the 25th percentile.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility sits in the 52nd percentile, while affordability is the weakest pillar at the 13th percentile. Strong return standing and weak affordability standing point in different directions for families weighing earnings against cost.

21.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, the federal program that provides need-based aid. This share is a measure of financial access to the university, not a household poverty rate and not a low-income census of the surrounding region.

Those students complete at 77.7%, above the rate for the entering cohort as a whole by 2.8 percentage points (74.9%). Azimuth ranks Clarkson University #1,094 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That rank sits alongside a completion pattern in which students receiving need-based aid finish at a higher rate than the broader first-time full-time cohort. Azimuth ranks Clarkson University #704 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the university's mobility standing.

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

Clarkson University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#654

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 52
Access & reach
National percentile: 25
Affordability
National percentile: 13
Return on investment
National percentile: 90

01 / Clarkson University briefing

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

Clarkson University carries a published cost of attendance of $79,022, and its aid-recipient price sits above the comparable-college norm. Published tuition and fees are $59,398, with room and board listed at $18,252.

For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,305. Aid offsets $48,717 of the published cost on average, but that average does not describe any one family’s bill.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, making Clarkson’s average $2,934 above that benchmark. Azimuth places the university’s affordability pillar in the 13th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The higher peer comparison and low affordability standing point in the same direction: price remains a concern after aid.

The published cost of attendance at Clarkson University is $79,022. Azimuth ranks the university #1,231 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $21,335 for families earning under $30,000, $23,321 for those in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $35,757 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,422.

Aid covers about 62% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $48,717 against the sticker price. Tuition and fees are $59,398.

The across all aid recipients is $30,305, which is $2,934 above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $26,000 in federal student loans, $1,801 above the peer median of $24,199.

97.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $36,890 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$23,321

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Clarkson University

Borrowing is common at Clarkson University: 97.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $26,000 at completion. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, with Clarkson University $1,801 above that figure.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $36,890. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 75% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative borrowing of $27,000 per borrower.

This included 74% of graduates with federal loans averaging $27,000 per borrower. Private loans were held by 24% of graduates, averaging $48,330 per borrower.

The investment case at Clarkson University is built on earnings that outpace both peers and expectations. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $91,312.

That figure sits in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students.

That gap lands at the 86th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $73,387 in a downside case to $97,651 in an upside case.

The typical earnings scenario is $91,312. On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $26,000.

That is $1,801 above the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $24,199. The debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowing is a separate consideration alongside student federal loans. For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $36,890.

For borrowers with median federal student debt, 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
$36,890

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$469/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 / Clarkson University briefing

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

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, Clarkson University’s median earnings are $91,312 four years after completion, in the 94th percentile. Azimuth places the university’s return pillar in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 86th 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) adds $11,763. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $117.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the university stands $23,062 above it. Above-peer and higher-than-expected earnings point the same way.

Clarkson University posts a $91,312 median four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. In Azimuth’s comparison of nonprofit four-year institutions, that result falls in the 94th percentile; the underlying earnings cohort includes 1,210 completers.

Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students. Here, earnings beyond expectations means the model’s difference between graduates’ earnings and its estimate for similar students.

The typical earnings scenario is $91,312, bracketed by a downside scenario of $73,387 and an upside scenario of $97,651. An estimated 27.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The high earnings placement and above-expected result point in the same direction.

Clarkson University has a return profile centered on earnings four years after completion: the median is $91,312, in the 94th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, putting the university’s result $23,062 above that mark.

Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 86th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,763. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $117.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $11,124. Azimuth ranks Clarkson University #145 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $73,387 on the downside to $97,651 on the upside, alongside the above-expected earnings reading. Engineering accounts for 61.1% of degrees awarded, setting the main program pattern.

Mechanical Engineering, the largest program, awarded 158 degrees and has median earnings of $90,286 four years after completion. The largest programs and the highest-earning field both sit within an engineering-heavy degree mix.

At Clarkson University, earnings scenarios show that outcomes differ across its program mix. The downside earnings scenario is $73,387 and the upside scenario is $97,651, rather than observed groups of graduates.

Clarkson University pairs above-expected earnings with costs and borrowing that are above peer norms. Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $30,305.

For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $27,371; the university's figure is above it by $2,934. Average net prices for the lowest, lower-middle, middle, upper-middle, and highest family-income bands are $21,335, $19,934, $23,321, $30,990, and $35,757, respectively.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,000. For comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median debt is $24,199, and Clarkson's figure is above it by $1,801.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $11,880 more than the model expects for similar students.

Above-peer price and borrowing sit alongside earnings beyond model expectations.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,763
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$117
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$11,880

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 / Clarkson University briefing

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

Clarkson University admits a larger share of applicants than its comparable institutions, with an admission rate of 77.4%. That rate is above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 4,948 first-year applicants, 4,082 admitted applicants, and 525 enrolled students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
77.4%
25th percentile
1190
Median
1270
75th percentile
1360

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Clarkson University briefing

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

At Clarkson University, the program picture centers on higher four-year earnings in computing and engineering, with Biology offering a more moderate comparison. Four years after completion, Computer Engineering records median earnings of $107,790 across 28 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows with $103,132 in median earnings and 19 degrees awarded. Chemical Engineering pairs median earnings of $93,614 with 45 degrees awarded, placing it among the higher-earning fields shown here.

By comparison, Biology reports $77,791 across 43 degrees awarded. The figures show a program mix where several engineering and computing fields sit above the biology result four years after completion.

Engineering accounts for 61.1% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at Clarkson University, making it the central program family in the degree mix. Published earnings cover 13 bachelor’s fields and are measured four years after completion.

Among the largest fields, Mechanical Engineering awarded 158 degrees and had median earnings of $90,286. Engineering-Related Fields awarded 63 degrees and reported median earnings of $88,793.

The largest fields span a broad earnings range even within this engineering-heavy mix.

Clarkson University is an engineering school by design: Engineering accounts for 61.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and the next two families, Engineering Technologies and Biological Sciences, trail at 9.2% and 8.9%. The university has 13 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Mechanical Engineering, at 158 degrees awarded, followed by Civil Engineering at 90 and Engineering-Related Fields at 63. The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Computer Engineering graduates earn a median of $107,790 four years after completion, from 28 degrees awarded.

Computer Science follows at $103,132, with 19 degrees awarded. Among the larger programs, Chemical Engineering, the fourth-largest at 45 degrees awarded, posts median earnings of $93,614 four years after completion.

The pattern is a concentrated one: the university awards most of its degrees in engineering and engineering-adjacent fields, and the earnings figures are tightly clustered. Biology, the fifth-largest program at 43 degrees awarded, is the one clear outlier, with a benchmark ratio of 1.36x against the national median for its field. Across all fields, 77.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Mechanical Engineering 158 degrees awarded
$90,286
Civil Engineering 90 degrees awarded
$82,387
Engineering-Related Fields 63 degrees awarded
$88,793
Chemical Engineering 45 degrees awarded
$93,614
Biology, General 43 degrees awarded
$77,791
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering 41 degrees awarded
$91,066

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 / Clarkson University briefing

How does Clarkson University serve students from different backgrounds?

Graduation and modeled earnings give Clarkson University a more favorable mobility reading than its access measures. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 74.9%, and Pell recipients complete within six years at 77.7%, above the overall rate by 2.8 percentage points.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 52nd percentile. Graduates earn about $11,880 more 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 86th percentile. Completion and modeled earnings point in the same direction.

Clarkson University admits 77.4% of applicants, setting a relatively open entry point for a private nonprofit university of its size. Its undergraduate enrollment is 2,196, with 21.6% of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 10.6% arriving as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth assigns the access pillar to the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The enrollment mix and access standing give a narrower picture than the admission rate alone.

06 / Clarkson University briefing

What colleges are similar to Clarkson 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 Clarkson University.

Admissions peerChamplain College82.9% admitted
Comparison with Clarkson University
MeasureClarkson UniversityChamplain College
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,312$71,587-$19,725 vs Clarkson University
Average annual net price$30,305$35,860+$5,555 vs Clarkson University · higher cost
Admission rate77.4%82.9%
Higher-admission alternativeWentworth Institute of Technology91.2% admitted
Comparison with Clarkson University
MeasureClarkson UniversityWentworth Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,312$95,027+$3,715 vs Clarkson University
Average annual net price$30,305$34,170+$3,865 vs Clarkson University · higher cost
Admission rate77.4%91.2%
Explore Wentworth Institute of Technology →
Nearby alternativeManhattan UniversityNearby option · NY
Comparison with Clarkson University
MeasureClarkson UniversityManhattan University
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,312$88,328-$2,984 vs Clarkson University
Average annual net price$30,305$27,256-$3,049 vs Clarkson University · lower cost
Admission rate77.4%78.9%
Explore Manhattan University →
Lower-cost alternativeUnited States Merchant Marine Academy$6,174 average net price
Comparison with Clarkson University
MeasureClarkson UniversityUnited States Merchant Marine Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,312$92,950+$1,638 vs Clarkson University
Average annual net price$30,305$6,174-$24,131 vs Clarkson University · lower cost
Admission rate77.4%34.2%
Explore United States Merchant Marine Academy →
Similar profileTrinity CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Clarkson University
MeasureClarkson UniversityTrinity College
Peer earnings · 4 years$91,312$83,645-$7,667 vs Clarkson University
Average annual net price$30,305$34,832+$4,527 vs Clarkson University · higher cost
Admission rate77.4%29.3%
Explore Trinity College →

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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