College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Hofstra University

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #882 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Hofstra University #882 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Hofstra University is a private nonprofit university on Long Island where the degree mix leans toward communication and business. Return is above average, while affordability is below the levels seen at many peers and mobility sits around the average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes the factors it measures to adding to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, and the highest band pays closer to it.

Pell students complete at a rate that is below the overall cohort. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to communication should know that the largest program is not the highest-earning one.

Hofstra University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
68.1%
Six-year completion[2]
68.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$72,921

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$33,450
Median student debt[4]
$23,621
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$56,149

Hofstra University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Hofstra University is a private nonprofit university in Hempstead, New York, enrolling 6,488 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The four that make up that standing are spread widely apart, with return the strongest and affordability the weakest. Hofstra University admits 68.1% of applicants, a rate that is close to the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 83.6% return for a second year and 68.5% finish within six years. Those figures sit near the medians for comparable institutions, which are 83.4% and 68.8%.

An estimated 12.1% of undergraduates 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 shape is one where return is the strongest pillar and affordability is the weakest.

Access and mobility sit in the middle of the field. The pillars are spread widely apart, with return high and affordability low.

Azimuth's four pillars show a mixed profile for Hofstra University. The return pillar is the strongest, in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, while affordability is the weakest, in the 7th percentile.

The access pillar sits at the 57th percentile and the mobility pillar at the 50th percentile. The wide spread between the strongest and weakest pillars—return and affordability—defines the university's composite position.

25.3% of undergraduates at Hofstra University receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 58.6%, which is 9.9 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #626 for access among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The access pillar is shaped by the Pell share and the completion gap between Pell recipients and the cohort as a whole.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks Hofstra University #735. Graduates earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Hofstra University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#882

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 50
Access & reach
National percentile: 57
Affordability
National percentile: 7
Return on investment
National percentile: 69

01 / Hofstra University briefing

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

Affordability is the weakest pillar for Hofstra University, and the numbers bear that out. The university publishes a cost of attendance of $70,624, an average across living arrangements.

Tuition and fees are $57,660, and room and board are $18,082. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported sticker charges of $1,115 in required fees and $18,942 for on-campus food and housing for that academic year.

Only 1.5% of full-time undergraduates pay more than the base charge. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $34,176, a savings of $36,448 against the sticker price.

That sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,805. Azimuth ranks the university #1,313 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 7th percentile.

Affordability is the weakest pillar for Hofstra University, which Azimuth ranks #1,313 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The published cost of attendance is $70,624 (an average across living arrangements).

Tuition and fees are $57,660 and room and board is $18,082. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $28,219.

For the middle band, families earning $48,001–$75,000, it is $33,450, and for families earning over $110,000 it is $37,348. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,129.

Aid covers about 52% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $36,448 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $34,176, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,805.

Median federal student debt at completion is $23,621, with 92.8% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That debt is below the peer median of $24,199 by $578, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $268 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowing is a separate population: the median Parent PLUS debt is $56,149.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$33,450

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Hofstra University

Federal loans cover almost the entire student body at Hofstra University, where 92.8% of federal aid recipients borrow. Among those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $23,621.

The median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, while the university's figure sits below that level by $578. The median Parent PLUS loan, which reflects a separate parent-borrower population, is $56,149.

Graduates of Hofstra University earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings four years after completion reach $72,921, which is above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That places the university in the 80th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, show a typical earnings figure of $72,921, with a downside scenario of $53,922 and an upside scenario of $90,038.

On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $23,621, which is below the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $268 a month if repaid over ten years.

The return picture is mixed: earnings sit above the peer median but fall short of what the model expects, while debt comes in below the peer benchmark.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $56,149. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $268.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$23,621
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$56,149

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$268/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$713/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 / Hofstra University briefing

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

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,921, at the 80th percentile nationally. That is $4,671 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the university in the 69th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 50th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,941.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,333. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,254.

The median for Hofstra University graduates four years after completion is $72,921, measured among 1,997 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That figure is $4,671 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #450 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places the median in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates of the university earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students. That result sits at the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $53,922 to $90,038, with a typical scenario of $72,921. An estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Hofstra University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,921, placing those earnings in the 80th percentile. That figure is $4,671 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students, which puts that gap at the 50th percentile. Earnings scenarios, grounded in the university's program mix, show a downside of $53,922 and an upside of $90,038.

Azimuth ranks the university #450 for return 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 $5,941.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $7,333. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,254.

The program mix leans toward communication, health, and business fields, and an estimated 28.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median earnings sit above the peer benchmark, while the model's adjustment for student characteristics places the result at the middle of the pack.

The variation in earnings across Hofstra University's 33 programs with published data is substantial. The earnings scenarios, which reflect the university's program mix, span from a downside of $53,922 to an upside of $90,038 four years after completion, with the typical scenario at $72,921.

The highest-earning fields show the upper end of the spread. Mechanical Engineering completers earn a median of $94,744, Accounting graduates reach $92,530, and Engineering Science completers earn $90,246.

Graduates of Hofstra University earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students. At the same time, the median federal student debt for borrowers who complete a degree is $23,621.

That runs below the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $268 a month if repaid over ten years.

The average net price for aid recipients, what they pay after grants and scholarships, is $34,176, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 by $6,805. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $56,149.

The spread between the lowest and highest income bands in average net price is $9,129, and aid covers about 52% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The return picture is mixed: earnings sit above the peer median of $68,250 by $4,671, but the model expects more for similar students.

The strongest pillar for Hofstra University is return, and the weakest is affordability, which ranks in the 7th percentile nationally.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,941
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$7,333
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$1,392

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 / Hofstra University briefing

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

Hofstra University admits 68.1% of applicants, a rate that sits just below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The gap is narrow, so the admission rate does not by itself separate Hofstra from its peers.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
68.1%
25th percentile
1240
Median
1310
75th percentile
1380

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Hofstra University briefing

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

The highest-earning fields at Hofstra University cluster around engineering and business, while the largest programs by degrees awarded span a wider earnings range. Mechanical Engineering, the top-earning program, shows a median of $94,744 four years after completion with 30 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $92,530 (42 degrees awarded), and Finance reaches $89,518 on 69 degrees awarded. Among the university's largest programs, the earnings picture is mixed.

The second-largest field, Allied Health Professions, reports a median of $88,238 with 73 degrees awarded. The largest program, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication (106 degrees awarded), sits at $56,990.

Psychology, tied for third-largest at 70 degrees awarded, earns $60,448. A student's field choice at Hofstra University carries a wide earnings spread, from the mid-fifties to the mid-nineties four years out.

Hofstra University publishes earnings data for 33 bachelor's programs. The five largest by degrees awarded span communication, health, business, and social science, and their earnings four years after completion range from $56,990 in Radio, Television, and Digital Communication to $89,518 in Finance.

The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering and business. Mechanical Engineering leads at $94,744 with 30 degrees awarded, followed by Accounting at $92,530 (42 degrees awarded) and Engineering Science at $90,246 (9 degrees awarded).

Finance, a large program with 69 degrees awarded, shows a median of $89,518, while Allied Health Professions rounds out the top five at $88,238.

The bachelor's degrees at Hofstra University spread across several fields, with no single family dominating the mix. Business accounts for 19.7% of degrees awarded, followed by Communication & Journalism at 14.7% and Health Professions at 13.4%.

The university has 33 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, at 106 degrees awarded, with Allied Health Professions next at 73 and Marketing at 70.

The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $94,744 four years after completion, from 30 degrees awarded. Accounting follows at $92,530, with 42 degrees awarded.

Two of the largest programs also appear on the highest-earning list: Finance at $89,518 and Allied Health Professions at $88,238. Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, the largest program, reports a median of $56,990.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration, with the largest programs spanning communication, health, and business. The highest earnings come from engineering and accounting, fields that award fewer degrees than the communication and marketing programs that lead in degrees awarded.

17.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, so the majority of degrees awarded sit outside of engineering and the sciences. The best-paid outcomes are not confined to the smallest departments: Finance and Allied Health Professions are among both the largest and highest-earning programs.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication 106 degrees awarded
$56,990
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions 73 degrees awarded
$88,238
Psychology, General 70 degrees awarded
$60,448
Marketing 70 degrees awarded
$68,530
Finance and Financial Management Services 69 degrees awarded
$89,518
Political Science and Government 65 degrees awarded
$63,728

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 / Hofstra University briefing

How does Hofstra University serve students from different backgrounds?

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort at Hofstra University is 68.5%, while Pell recipients complete at 58.6% — a gap of 9.9 percentage points below the overall rate. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $1,392 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 50th percentile nationally.

Hofstra University enrolls 6,488 undergraduates at its campus in Hempstead, New York. The private nonprofit university admits 68.1% of applicants, a figure that sits just below the peer median of 71.2%, the middle value for comparable institutions.

Among its undergraduates, 25.3% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 12.1% enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, reflecting a student body that draws from a range of backgrounds.

06 / Hofstra University briefing

What colleges are similar to Hofstra 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 Hofstra University.

Admissions peerSeton Hall University73.3% admitted
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversitySeton Hall University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$76,919+$3,998 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$31,446-$2,730 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%73.3%
Higher-admission alternativeIona University86.9% admitted
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversityIona University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$69,776-$3,145 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$29,188-$4,988 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%86.9%
Nearby alternativeIona UniversityNearby option · NY
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversityIona University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$69,776-$3,145 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$29,188-$4,988 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%86.9%
Higher-earnings alternativePace University$80,804 earnings
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversityPace University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$80,804+$7,883 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$30,892-$3,284 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%75.9%
Explore Pace University →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Brooklyn College$3,103 average net price
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversityCUNY Brooklyn College
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$62,833-$10,088 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$3,103-$31,073 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%58.4%
Explore CUNY Brooklyn College →
Similar profileLong Island UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Hofstra University
MeasureHofstra UniversityLong Island University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,921$74,905+$1,984 vs Hofstra University
Average annual net price$34,176$33,062-$1,114 vs Hofstra University · lower cost
Admission rate68.1%86.2%
Explore Long Island University →

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