1. [College research](/) 2. / 3. CUNY Brooklyn College Research brief & institution hub Copy linkPrint brief # CUNY Brooklyn College NY · Large public institution · Overall rank #53 nationally Data snapshot September 27, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026 Overview[Cost & aid](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/cost/)[Outcomes](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/admissions/)[Majors](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/similar/) ## [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) CUNY Brooklyn College #53 among nonprofit four-year institutions. ### Who it’s a good fit for CUNY Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, New York, where Business and Psychology lead the degree mix. Affordability is among the highest we track. Graduates earn more than the model predicts for similar students. The model attributes more of the gain to the factors it measures than to the remainder it cannot explain. Those factors are field of study, enrollment and the local labor market. Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, and access is among the highest we track. Aid recipients in the lowest income band pay far less than the published cost, while those in the highest band pay closer to it. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, based on the program mix. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are smaller. ## Brooklyn College at a glance ### Admissions and outcomes **Admission rate[\[1\]](#hub-data-note-admission)** 58.4% **Six-year completion[\[2\]](#hub-data-note-completion)** 53.9% **Four-year earnings[\[3\]](#hub-data-note-earnings)** $62,833 ### Cost and family borrowing **Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[\[6\]](#hub-data-note-net-price)** $6,193 **Median student debt[\[4\]](#hub-data-note-student-debt)** $11,000 **Median Parent PLUS debt[\[7\]](#hub-data-note-gps)** $17,273 ## Brooklyn College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[\[5\]](#hub-data-note-rankings) CUNY Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, New York, enrolling 10,543 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (96th percentile). The university accepts 58.4% of applicants; the median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is 78.1%. 80.1% of the full-time bachelor's-seeking first-year cohort returns for the second year, against a median of 83.1% for comparable institutions. The [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) for the first-time full-time cohort is 53.9%, compared with 65.0% at peer institutions. An estimated 40.8% of students enter as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate covers the first-time full-time cohort, which is an estimated majority of students. At CUNY Brooklyn College, affordability is the strongest pillar and return the weakest, and the four sit far apart. Affordability (99th percentile), access (98th percentile) and mobility (95th percentile) cluster near the top of the distribution. Return (58th percentile) sits in the middle of the field. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) CUNY Brooklyn College #53 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The composite score is anchored by affordability, the university's strongest pillar, which sits in the 99th percentile. Access follows in the 98th percentile and mobility in the 95th percentile. The return pillar, at the 58th percentile, is the weakest of the four. 57.0% of undergraduates at CUNY Brooklyn College receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 950 and 1,340. Azimuth ranks the university #36 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 49.2%, 4.7 percentage points below the overall [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) (53.9%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #74. Graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students. [How value-added outcomes are assessed](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) · [How to interpret program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) Brooklyn College rankings in context | Geography | Rank | | --- | --- | | National | #53 | Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group. ### National pillar percentiles **Economic mobility** National percentile: 95 **Access & reach** National percentile: 98 **[Affordability](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/cost/)** National percentile: 99 **[Return on investment](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/outcomes/)** National percentile: 58 ### Top-ranked majors 1. Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas**#1** 2. Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services**#2** 3. Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies**#13** This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ. [Explore major rankings](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/majors/#major-rankings) 01 / Brooklyn College briefing ## [Brooklyn College cost & financial aid](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/cost/)[\[6\]](#hub-data-note-net-price)[\[7\]](#hub-data-note-gps) The published cost of attendance at CUNY Brooklyn College is $14,151, with in-state tuition and fees of $7,452 and out-of-state tuition and fees of $15,402. After grants and scholarships, the average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) for aid recipients is $3,103, which is $12,531 below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Financial aid reduces the published cost by $11,048 on average. Azimuth ranks the university #15 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 99th percentile. Affordability is the strongest pillar at CUNY Brooklyn College, a public university in Brooklyn, New York. The published cost of attendance is $14,151, with in-state tuition and fees of $7,452 and out-of-state tuition at $15,402. For families earning under $30,000, the average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/)—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is just $1,029. It moves to $6,193 for the $48,001–$75,000 band and reaches $12,254 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,225. Azimuth ranks the university #15 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 78% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $11,048 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $3,103, which sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,531. Median federal student debt at completion is $11,000. About 23.5% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt is below the peer median of $20,076 by $9,076. For a graduate at the median four-year earnings of $62,833, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $125 a month if repaid over ten years. Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing among parent borrowers is $17,273. Your family income Choose a household income range to see estimated net price. $0–30K$30–48K$48–75K$75–110K$110K+ Reported average annual net price · $48–75K**$6,193** After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ. Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary. ### Borrowing and repayment at Brooklyn College A degree from CUNY Brooklyn College leaves most graduates with little federal debt. Only 23.5% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans, and among those who complete, the median balance is $11,000. That median is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $9,076. For parent borrowers, a separate population, the median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) loan is $17,273. CUNY Brooklyn College graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the public university in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion stand at $62,833, a figure in the 59th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix point to a typical outcome of $62,833, a downside scenario of $48,293, and an upside scenario of $72,280. On the cost side, the median federal student debt at completion is $11,000, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $125. Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $17,273. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $125. [How Financial GPS measures payment burden](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) · [The four risk-and-reward zones](/analysis/4-zones-of-college-risk-and-reward/) Financial GPS ### What does repayment look like? **Institution median student debt** $11,000 **Institution Parent PLUS debt** $17,273 Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included. **Estimated student payment · monthly** $125/mo **Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly** $219/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](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=cuny-brooklyn-college#student-tool) [Read the full cost & aid brief](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/cost/) 02 / Brooklyn College briefing ## [Brooklyn College career outcomes & earnings](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/outcomes/)[\[3\]](#hub-data-note-earnings)[\[8\]](#hub-data-note-scenarios)[\[9\]](#hub-data-note-value-added) Four years after completion, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,833, at the 59th percentile. That is $2,777 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 76th percentile, and Azimuth places the university at the 58th percentile for return. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $4,108. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,757. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,199. Four years after completing a bachelor's degree at CUNY Brooklyn College, the 3,555 completers in the earnings cohort show a median of $62,833. That figure is below the $65,610 median at comparable institutions (same type and size), and it places the university in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 76th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix point to a typical outcome of $62,833, a downside scenario of $48,293, and an upside scenario of $72,280. An estimated 31.0% of the university's programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix. Four years after completion, the median earnings of CUNY Brooklyn College graduates stand at $62,833, which places the university in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is below the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $2,777. Graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 76th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,108. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $2,757. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,199. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the university #624 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $48,293 and an upside of $72,280. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 535 degrees and shows median earnings of $61,323 four years after completion. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, with 151 degrees awarded and median earnings of $89,943. Subject-Area Teacher Education follows at $80,207 from 86 degrees awarded. Psychology, the second-largest program by degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $52,742 across 508 degrees. Together, these programs span the Business, Psychology, and Education families, which account for 30.1%, 16.4%, and 9.0% of degrees awarded, respectively. Graduates of CUNY Brooklyn College earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students. That gap places the university in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios four years after completion show the variation across the university's 27 programs with published data: a downside scenario of $48,293, a typical scenario of $62,833, and an upside scenario of $72,280. The highest-earning programs illustrate the upper end of that spread. Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $89,943, Subject-Area Teacher Education graduates reach $80,207, and Finance completers earn $69,489. Median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree at CUNY Brooklyn College is $11,000, which runs below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $125. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $17,273. The average net price for first-time full-time Title IV aid recipients is $3,103, which sits below the $15,634 median for comparable institutions. For aid recipients from families earning under $30,000, the average net price falls to $1,029, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands for aid recipients is $11,225. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) the university #15 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings outcome coincides with an affordability profile that Azimuth places in the 99th percentile nationally. What explains value-added earnings? **Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.** +$4,108 **Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.** +$2,757 **Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.** +$6,865 These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality. [Read the full outcomes brief](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/outcomes/) 03 / Brooklyn College briefing ## [Brooklyn College acceptance rate & admissions](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/admissions/)[\[1\]](#hub-data-note-admission)[\[10\]](#hub-data-note-sat)[\[11\]](#hub-data-note-retention) CUNY Brooklyn College admits 58.4% of applicants, a rate that sits well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). SAT: approximate enrolled-student range **Admission rate** 58.4% **Approximate lower endpoint** 950 **Reported average** 1140 **Approximate upper endpoint** 1340 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](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/admissions/) 04 / Brooklyn College briefing ## [What are the largest majors at Brooklyn College?](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/majors/)[\[12\]](#hub-data-note-programs) The highest-earning programs at CUNY Brooklyn College sit in technology and education, and the earnings spread across the largest programs is wide. Computer and Information Sciences leads at $89,943 four years after completion, with 151 degrees awarded. [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) it #70 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Subject-Area Teacher Education follows at $80,207, from 86 degrees awarded, and Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally. That is the strongest rank on the page. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awards 535 degrees a year and posts median earnings of $61,323, with a national rank of #142. Psychology, the second-largest at 508 degrees, sits at $52,742 and Azimuth ranks it #83 nationally. A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the best-paid programs are not the ones awarding the most degrees. CUNY Brooklyn College has 18 nationally ranked bachelor's programs, and the strongest is Subject-Area Teacher Education, which [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) #1 in its field. It awards 86 degrees a year, and its completers earn a median of $80,207 four years after graduating. The largest programs are Business Administration and Management, at 535 degrees a year, and Psychology, at 508 degrees. Psychology ranks #83 and its completers earn $52,742. The highest earnings come from a smaller program. Computer and Information Sciences awards 151 degrees a year, ranks #70 nationally, and its graduates earn $89,943. CUNY Brooklyn College awards the largest share of its bachelor's degrees in Business, at 30.1% of the total. Psychology follows at 16.4%, with Education third at 9.0%. The university has 18 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 27 with published four-year earnings data. The largest program is Business Administration and Management, awarding 535 degrees a year. Psychology is next at 508 degrees, and Accounting awards 286. The highest-ranked program is Subject-Area Teacher Education, which [Azimuth ranks](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/) #1 nationally within its field and #1 in New York. It awards 86 degrees a year, and graduates earn a median of $80,207 four years after completion. That is a benchmark ratio of 1.56x against the national median for its field. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, with a median of $89,943 from 151 degrees awarded. Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services is another strong performer, ranked #2 nationally and #2 in New York, with 99 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,821. The pattern is one of strength spread across several fields rather than concentrated in one. The largest programs in business and psychology sit alongside highly ranked programs in education and dietetics, and the highest earnings come from computer science. Across all fields, 17.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM. Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields **Business Administration, Management and Operations 535 degrees awarded** $61,323 **Psychology, General 508 degrees awarded** $52,742 **Accounting and Related Services 286 degrees awarded** $64,103 **Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 194 degrees awarded** $58,828 **Computer and Information Sciences, General 151 degrees awarded** $89,943 **Biology, General 144 degrees awarded** $53,786 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](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/majors/) 05 / Brooklyn College briefing ## How does Brooklyn College serve students from different backgrounds? Azimuth places CUNY Brooklyn College in a grouping that coincides with a mobility pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, graduates earn about $6,865 more than the model expects for similar students, a level in the 76th percentile. For the first-time full-time cohort, the overall [six-year graduation rate](/analysis/what-the-graduation-rate-doesnt-count/) is 53.9%; Pell recipients in the same group complete at 49.2%, which is 4.7 percentage points below that figure. Azimuth places the access pillar of CUNY Brooklyn College in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 58.4% of applicants, well below the peer median of 78.1%, and enrolls 10,543 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 57.0% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 40.8% arrive as transfers or part-time students. 06 / Brooklyn College briefing ## [What colleges are similar to Brooklyn College?](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/similar/)[\[15\]](#hub-data-note-peers) 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](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/similar/#peer-matching). ### A shortlist for different decisions Choose a row to compare the figures with Brooklyn College. Admissions peerFarmingdale State College63.3% admitted+ Comparison with Brooklyn College | Measure | Brooklyn College | Farmingdale State College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $62,833 | $65,444+$2,611 vs Brooklyn College | | Average annual net price | $3,103 | $10,867+$7,764 vs Brooklyn College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 58.4% | 63.3% | [Explore Farmingdale State College →](/school/farmingdale-state-college/) Higher-admission alternativeCentenary University83.1% admitted+ Comparison with Brooklyn College | Measure | Brooklyn College | Centenary University | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $62,833 | $63,207+$374 vs Brooklyn College | | Average annual net price | $3,103 | $20,503+$17,400 vs Brooklyn College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 58.4% | 83.1% | Nearby alternativeFarmingdale State CollegeNearby option · NY+ Comparison with Brooklyn College | Measure | Brooklyn College | Farmingdale State College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $62,833 | $65,444+$2,611 vs Brooklyn College | | Average annual net price | $3,103 | $10,867+$7,764 vs Brooklyn College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 58.4% | 63.3% | [Explore Farmingdale State College →](/school/farmingdale-state-college/) Higher-earnings alternativeCUNY Hunter College$73,236 earnings+ Comparison with Brooklyn College | Measure | Brooklyn College | CUNY Hunter College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $62,833 | $73,236+$10,403 vs Brooklyn College | | Average annual net price | $3,103 | $2,984\-$119 vs Brooklyn College · lower cost | | Admission rate | 58.4% | 53.8% | [Explore CUNY Hunter College →](/school/cuny-hunter-college/) Similar profileCUNY Lehman CollegeMatched across several measures+ Comparison with Brooklyn College | Measure | Brooklyn College | CUNY Lehman College | | --- | --- | --- | | Peer earnings · 4 years | $62,833 | $63,353+$520 vs Brooklyn College | | Average annual net price | $3,103 | $3,148+$45 vs Brooklyn College · higher cost | | Admission rate | 58.4% | 56.6% | [Explore CUNY Lehman College →](/school/cuny-lehman-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](/school/cuny-brooklyn-college/similar/) ## Data scope & methodology Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026 · Governed hub narrative September 28, 2026 · Governed spoke corpus September 28, 2026 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](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth. [Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations](/methodology/) · [About College Azimuth](/about/) Read the analysis behind [value-added earnings](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) and the [change to four-year graduate earnings](/analysis/college-scorecard-2026-4-year-vs-10-year-earnings-2-2/). 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](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/files/InstitutionDataDocumentation.pdf); 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](/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](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) 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](/analysis/median-roi-hides-a-harsh-reality/) 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](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) 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](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/assets/FieldOfStudyDataDocumentation.pdf) 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](/methodology/) [How to interpret program rankings](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/)