College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Mercy University

NYMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #309 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

An Azimuth composite rank of #309 among nonprofit institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Mercy University is a private nonprofit university in Dobbs Ferry, New York, where Health Professions and Business lead the degree mix. Access is the strongest .

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes part of that to the factors it measures, though STEM programs subtract from the result, and part to what it cannot explain.

Return is above average. Pell recipients complete at a rate slightly above the entering cohort as a whole, and access is well above average.

Affordability is well above average, with what the lowest income band pays well below the published cost. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to enter the workforce directly rather than continue to graduate study.

A student drawn to Nursing should know it is both the largest program and the best-paid one.

Mercy University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
85.8%
Six-year completion[2]
45.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$62,616

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$15,056
Median student debt[4]
$19,637
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$20,710

Mercy University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Dobbs Ferry, New York, is home to Mercy University, a private nonprofit university that enrolls 5,735 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university lands in the upper third of the field (79th percentile).

Mercy University admits 85.8% of those who apply, a share that sits above the peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among students who begin full time, 75.7% come back for a second year, which is below the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 45.7%, also below the comparable-institution median of 68.8%. An estimated 38.0% of the student body arrives as transfers or part-time students, so many undergraduates do not start here.

The four pillars sit at different levels. Access is the strongest and mobility the weakest, with affordability and return falling between the two.

The spread between them is wide enough that no single label captures the whole picture.

Access gives Mercy University its clearest profile strength, with affordability also a relative asset for prospective families. Azimuth places access in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university’s strongest pillar.

Affordability sits in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and return is in the 66th percentile. Mobility, the weakest pillar, falls in the 53rd percentile.

Strong access and affordability sit alongside a more middle-of-the-pack mobility result.

Half of undergraduates at Mercy University receive Pell Grants, a share that measures the reach of federal financial aid across the student body. Azimuth ranks the university #248 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 49.1%, which is 3.4 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate. The completion gap runs in the students' favor here, with Pell recipients finishing at a slightly higher rate than the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks Mercy University #694 for mobility. Graduates earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the access and completion figures above.

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

Mercy University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#309

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 53
Access & reach
National percentile: 83
Affordability
National percentile: 80
Return on investment
National percentile: 66

Top-ranked majors

  1. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing#11
  2. Human Services, General#13
  3. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other#16

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Mercy University briefing

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

At Mercy University, the average net price is $14,072 for aid recipients, meaning what they pay after grants and scholarships rather than the full published charge. That average points to a substantial difference between listed charges and the cost facing the typical aid recipient.

The published cost of attendance is $32,596, an average across living arrangements. Published tuition and fees are $22,880, and room and board are $15,250.

These are published charges before grants and scholarships. Financial aid lowers the published price by $18,524 on average for aid recipients.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371; the university’s average is below that figure by $13,299. Azimuth places its affordability pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

A lower-than-peer net price and a strong affordability placement point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Mercy University is $32,596 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #286 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $11,974 in the lowest family-income band, $15,056 in the middle band, and $21,299 in the highest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,325.

Tuition and fees are $22,880. Aid lowers the published cost by $18,524 for the average aid recipient, bringing the for all aid recipients to $14,072.

That figure is $13,299 below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $19,637 in federal student loans, $4,562 below the peer median of $24,199.

About 78.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $20,710 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $223 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$15,056

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Mercy University

Federal borrowing is common at Mercy University, where 78.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. That makes the debt figures relevant to many students considering the published price.

Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt at completion is $19,637. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $24,199, with Mercy's median $4,562 below that figure.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $20,710. The lower median relative to peers sits alongside widespread federal borrowing among undergraduates.

Mercy University shows lower borrowing than comparable institutions alongside a favorable modeled earnings measure. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,616 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 59th 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 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students. The downside earnings scenario is $50,805, and the upside scenario is $115,813; the typical scenario matches the observed median.

Median federal student debt is $19,637, $4,562 below the peer median of $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $223 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and lower debt point in the same direction.

Among the separate population of Parent PLUS borrowers, median borrowing is $20,710. For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $223 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
$19,637
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$20,710

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$223/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$263/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 / Mercy University briefing

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

Graduates of Mercy University earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students, a favorable model-based signal for return. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 76th 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 $3,317. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,440.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $62,616 four years after completion, in the 59th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $68,250; Mercy sits $5,634 below it. Above-expected earnings and below-peer median earnings make the return picture mixed.

Mercy University posts earnings above the national midpoint, with median earnings of $62,616 four years after completion. That median covers federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, rather than every former student.

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 59th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and the underlying earnings cohort includes 2,024 completers. Modeled from the program mix, the typical earnings scenario is $62,616; it is a scenario rather than an observed group.

The measure offers a schoolwide view, so individual fields can sit well above or below it. An estimated 29.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median and typical scenario point to the same central earnings result.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,616. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, leaving the university $5,634 below that figure.

Azimuth ranks Mercy University #500 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 76th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,317.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,440. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $569.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $50,805 on the downside to $115,813 on the upside. An estimated 29.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings range at Mercy University depends heavily on the program mix. Its downside earnings scenario is $50,805, while the upside scenario reaches $115,813; neither represents an observed group of graduates.

At the program level, median earnings four years after completion are $118,232 in Nursing, $110,519 in Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions, and $72,587 in Accounting. Those field results help explain the distance between the earnings scenarios.

Mercy University combines borrowing below comparable institutions with higher-than-expected earnings, though individual borrowing and program choices still vary. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,637.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, and the university’s figure is below it by $4,562. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $223 a month if repaid over ten years.

For parent borrowers using Parent PLUS, median borrowing is $20,710. Graduates earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students.

Debt below the peer median and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,317
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$3,440
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$6,757

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 / Mercy University briefing

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

Mercy University admitted 85.8% of applicants in the reported entering class, a rate that points to broad access in that applicant pool. The figure is above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so its admission outcome differs from that peer benchmark.

Applicants should place Mercy University on an application list after reviewing their academic record alongside the university’s published admissions information. This rate summarizes a past applicant pool rather than forecasting an individual admission decision.

Admissions
Admission rate
85.8%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / Mercy University briefing

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

Among Mercy University's ranked fields, Social Sciences has median earnings of $55,052 four years after completion. It awarded 100 degrees, and Azimuth ranks it #17 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Nursing recorded $118,232 and awarded 330 degrees; Azimuth ranks it #11 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. More moderate earnings appear in Human Services, at $49,634 across 21 degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks the field #13 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences posted $58,471 with 94 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth rank of #16 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. The ranked fields therefore span higher and more moderate four-year earnings.

Health Professions accounts for 31.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, putting health-related fields at the center of the program mix. Azimuth identifies 13 ranked fields among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Human Services ranks #13, with 21 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,634. Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences ranks #16, with 94 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,471.

Social Sciences ranks #17, with 100 degrees awarded and median earnings of $55,052.

The degree mix at Mercy University is anchored by Health Professions, which accounts for 31.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Business follows at 14.1%, with Psychology at 10.0%.

The university has 13 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 20 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, at 330 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management at 174 and Psychology at 144.

The highest-ranked program is Nursing, which Azimuth ranks #1 in New York within its field, with 330 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $118,232 four years after completion, which is 1.33x the national median for that field.

A much smaller program, Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions, follows at $110,519 from 14 degrees awarded. Business Administration and Management, the second-largest program, earns a median of $64,963 and ranks #201 nationally and #16 in New York within its field.

The pattern is a university where the largest program is also the highest-earning one, and where the highest-ranked program belongs to a health field. The earnings spread between the top and the rest is wide: the highest-earning program clears six figures while the next-largest programs sit in the mid-fifties to mid-sixties. Across all fields, 6.6% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 330 degrees awarded
$118,232
Business Administration, Management and Operations 174 degrees awarded
$64,963
Psychology, General 144 degrees awarded
$53,346
Social Sciences, General 100 degrees awarded
$55,052
Criminal Justice and Corrections 95 degrees awarded
$51,758
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other 94 degrees awarded
$58,471

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 / Mercy University briefing

How does Mercy University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mercy University has a 45.7% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort; Pell recipients complete within six years at 49.1%, above the overall rate by 3.4 percentage points. Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 76th percentile. Graduates earn about $6,757 more than the model expects for similar students.

Mercy University makes entry available through admissions and transfer routes, admitting 85.8% of applicants. Its undergraduate enrollment is 5,735, with 50.0% of undergraduates receiving Pell Grants and an estimated 38.0% arriving as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the university’s access pillar in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The size of the Pell and transfer populations adds context to the broad admission rate.

06 / Mercy University briefing

What colleges are similar to Mercy 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 Mercy University.

Admissions peerCedar Crest College84.1% admitted
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityCedar Crest College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$67,546+$4,930 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$18,659+$4,587 vs Mercy University · higher cost
Admission rate85.8%84.1%
Higher-admission alternativeNew Jersey City University98.4% admitted
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityNew Jersey City University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$60,965-$1,651 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$16,053+$1,981 vs Mercy University · higher cost
Admission rate85.8%98.4%
Explore New Jersey City University →
Nearby alternativeCUNY York CollegeNearby option · NY
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityCUNY York College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$61,389-$1,227 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$4,456-$9,616 vs Mercy University · lower cost
Admission rate85.8%64.1%
Explore CUNY York College →
Higher-earnings alternativeOregon Institute of Technology$87,138 earnings
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityOregon Institute of Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$87,138+$24,522 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$15,706+$1,634 vs Mercy University · higher cost
Admission rate85.8%95.0%
Explore Oregon Institute of Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Lehman College$3,148 average net price
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityCUNY Lehman College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$63,353+$737 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$3,148-$10,924 vs Mercy University · lower cost
Admission rate85.8%56.6%
Explore CUNY Lehman College →
Similar profileUniversity of New HavenMatched across several measures
Comparison with Mercy University
MeasureMercy UniversityUniversity of New Haven
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,616$65,164+$2,548 vs Mercy University
Average annual net price$14,072$34,192+$20,120 vs Mercy University · higher cost
Admission rate85.8%60.4%
Explore University of New Haven →

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