College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Rutgers University-New Brunswick

NJLarge public institution · Overall rank #30 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

A top-ranked national university with mobility in the 99th percentile.

Who it’s a good fit for

Rutgers University-New Brunswick is a public university in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where Business, Computer & Information Sciences, and Health Professions lead the degree mix. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns above the median at comparable institutions. The model attributes that gain to the factors it measures, while what it cannot explain subtracts from it.

Pell recipients complete below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and affordability is modestly below average. The lowest income band averages a net price well under the published cost, while the highest band pays close to it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not the largest.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
58.2%
Six-year completion[2]
83.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$77,933

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,282
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$25,294

Rutgers University-New Brunswick rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Rutgers University-New Brunswick is a public university in New Brunswick, New Jersey, enrolling 37,751 undergraduates. Its composite standing is near the top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (98th percentile).

The shape is a selective public campus where mobility is the strongest and affordability the weakest, with access and return both sitting near the top of the field. The university admits 58.1% of applicants, a rate well below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 93.0% return for a second year and 83.6% finish within six years. Both figures run well above the medians for comparable institutions, which are 83.1% for retention and 65.0% for completion.

An estimated 22.4% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students. The four pillars are spread wide, with the strongest and weakest separated by more than fifty percentile points.

Mobility is the strongest pillar, while affordability is the one that trails. Access and return both sit near the top, with access slightly ahead.

Azimuth ranks Rutgers University-New Brunswick #30 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 99th percentile.

The access pillar sits in the 90th percentile and the return pillar in the 87th percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 42nd percentile.

27.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,310 and 1,500, and the middle 50% of ACT scores fell between 28 and 33.

Azimuth ranks the university #146 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 71.8%, 11.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (83.6%).

Azimuth ranks the university #19 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the university's strong mobility standing.

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

Rutgers University-New Brunswick rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#30

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 99
Access & reach
National percentile: 90
Affordability
National percentile: 42
Return on investment
National percentile: 87

Top-ranked majors

  1. Genetics#2
  2. Social Sciences, Other#2
  3. Biotechnology#3

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 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

Rutgers University-New Brunswick cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Rutgers University-New Brunswick is $36,993. That total includes $17,929 in tuition and fees for New Jersey residents and $37,441 for non-residents, plus $15,714 for room and board.

For the average aid recipient, the net price is $24,406. That figure reflects an aid offset of $12,587 from the sticker total.

When compared with comparable institutions (same type and size), that average is above the peer median of $15,634 by $8,772. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places the university #820 for affordability. That places the affordability pillar in the 42nd percentile.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick publishes a cost of attendance of $36,993, with in-state tuition and fees of $17,929 and room and board at $15,714. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $16,343 for families earning under $30,000, $18,282 for the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $35,016 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $18,673. Azimuth ranks Rutgers University-New Brunswick #820 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 34% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $12,587 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $24,406, which sits above the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,772.

Out-of-state students face a higher tuition of $37,441, and their net prices will differ from the in-state averages shown here. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $21,500.

That median is above the peer median of $20,076 by $1,424, and 84.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who take out Parent PLUS loans borrow a median of $25,294.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,282

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Rutgers University-New Brunswick

Federal borrowing is widespread at Rutgers University-New Brunswick: 84.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among those who complete, the median federal student debt is $21,500.

That median is $1,424 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $25,294.

The investment picture at Rutgers University-New Brunswick is built on earnings that outpace the model's expectation, while borrowing runs close to the peer median. Four years after graduating, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $77,933, at the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, placing the gap at the 85th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $58,962 in a downside case to $110,071 in an upside case.

The typical earnings scenario sits at $77,933. Median federal student debt at completion is $21,500, $1,424 above the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $25,294. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$21,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$25,294

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$321/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 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

Rutgers University-New Brunswick career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of Rutgers University-New Brunswick earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 85th 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 $12,051.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,043. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,296.

The median completer earns $77,933 four years after completion, in the 87th percentile nationally. That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 among comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,323. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 87th percentile.

Four years after completing their degrees, graduates of Rutgers University-New Brunswick earn a median of $77,933, a figure that places the university in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median is above the $65,610 level reported at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $12,323.

Graduates earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 85th percentile nationally. The earnings cohort comprises 13,209 completers.

Anchored to the university's program mix, three earnings scenarios outline possible four-year outcomes: $58,962 on the downside, $77,933 as the typical case, and $110,071 on the upside. Derived from program mix rather than observed enrollment, the model estimates that 28.8% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of Rutgers University-New Brunswick graduates stand at $77,933, placing the university in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $12,323.

Graduates earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that lands in the 85th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $12,051.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,043. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,296.

Azimuth ranks the university #196 for return. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $58,962 and an upside of $110,071.

The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, awarded 613 degrees and posts a median of $125,303 four years after completion, ranking #18 nationally in its field. Finance follows with 418 degrees awarded and median earnings of $100,695, good for #27 in the Azimuth rankings.

Psychology, the second-largest program at 484 degrees, shows median earnings of $56,479. The highest-return program, Management Science, earns a median of $126,906 and ranks #5 nationally, at 1.47x the national median for its field.

Program-level earnings four years after completion reveal a wide spread at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Management Science graduates earn a median of $126,906, Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $125,303, and Electrical Engineering graduates earn $108,296.

The earnings scenarios capture that variation: the downside scenario sits at $58,962 while the upside scenario reaches $110,071, reflecting the range of outcomes tied to different fields of study.

Graduates of Rutgers University-New Brunswick earn a median of $77,933 four years after completion, well above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $1,424 above the peer median of $20,076.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. The published cost of attendance is $36,993.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest income band pay an average net price of $16,343, while those in the highest band pay $35,016. The spread between the two ends is $18,673. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $25,294 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$12,051
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$1,043
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$11,008

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 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

Rutgers University-New Brunswick acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Rutgers University-New Brunswick admits 58.1% 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
58.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1310
Reported average
1410
Approximate upper endpoint
1500

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

What are the largest majors at Rutgers University-New Brunswick?[12]

Rutgers University-New Brunswick publishes four-year earnings for 68 bachelor's fields, and Azimuth ranks 56 of them nationally. The highest-earning program, Management Science, reaches a median of $126,906 four years after completion and holds an Azimuth national rank of #5 on 251 degrees awarded.

Computer and Information Sciences, the largest program by degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $125,303 and an Azimuth national rank of #18 with 613 degrees awarded. By contrast, Psychology reaches a median of $56,479 on 484 degrees awarded, ranked #68 in its field.

Finance sits between them, with 418 degrees awarded, median earnings of $100,695, and an Azimuth national rank of #27.

Azimuth ranks 56 bachelor's programs at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, and earnings data is available for 68 fields. The five largest programs by degrees awarded span business, technology, and the sciences, and each carries a national rank.

Computer and Information Sciences leads with 613 degrees awarded and a national rank of #18; graduates earn a median of $125,303 four years after completion. Psychology awarded 484 degrees, ranks #68 nationally, and shows a median of $56,479.

Finance follows with 418 degrees awarded, a national rank of #27, and median earnings of $100,695. Human Resources Management and Services awarded 406 degrees, ranks #12 nationally, and its graduates earn a median of $75,850.

Biology rounds out the largest five with 394 degrees awarded, a national rank of #49, and median earnings of $68,306.

Rutgers University-New Brunswick awards bachelor's degrees across 56 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 68 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Business, which accounts for 19.8% of degrees awarded, followed by Computer & Information Sciences at 11.8% and Health Professions at 10.2%.

The largest single programs are Computer and Information Sciences at 613 degrees awarded, Psychology at 484, and Finance at 418. The highest-ranked program is Genetics.

It awards 45 degrees a year, and its graduates earn a median of $83,484 four years after completion. The program ranks #1 in New Jersey within its field.

Social Sciences ranks #2 nationally and #1 in New Jersey within its field, with 41 degrees awarded and a median of $80,700. Biotechnology ranks #3 nationally and #1 in New Jersey within its field, with 56 degrees awarded and a median of $87,600.

The largest program, Computer and Information Sciences, reports a median of $125,303 and ranks #18 nationally within its field. Strength is concentrated in the programs that award the most degrees.

Computer and Information Sciences and Finance both rank in the top thirty nationally within their fields. Psychology, the second-largest program, reports median earnings of $56,479, well below the top earners. Across all fields, 36.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer and Information Sciences, General 613 degrees awarded
$125,303
Psychology, General 484 degrees awarded
$56,479
Finance and Financial Management Services 418 degrees awarded
$100,695
Human Resources Management and Services 406 degrees awarded
$75,850
Biology, General 394 degrees awarded
$68,306
Public Health 394 degrees awarded
$74,633

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 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

How does Rutgers University-New Brunswick serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places Rutgers University-New Brunswick in the 99th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 83.6%, while Pell recipients complete at 71.8% — below the overall rate by 11.8 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $11,008 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 85th percentile.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Rutgers University-New Brunswick in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 58.1% of applicants, a rate well below the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 27.9% of the 37,751 undergraduates, and an estimated 22.4% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Rutgers University-New Brunswick briefing

What colleges are similar to Rutgers University-New Brunswick?[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 Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

Admissions peerFordham University59.3% admitted
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickFordham University
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$84,203+$6,270 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$44,338+$19,932 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · higher cost
Admission rate58.2%59.3%
Explore Fordham University →
Higher-admission alternativeSt. John's University-New York83.4% admitted
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickSt. John's University-New York
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$77,868-$65 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$29,999+$5,593 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · higher cost
Admission rate58.2%83.4%
Explore St. John's University-New York →
Nearby alternativeThe College of New JerseyNearby option · NJ
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickThe College of New Jersey
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$72,068-$5,865 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$27,646+$3,240 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · higher cost
Admission rate58.2%62.3%
Explore The College of New Jersey →
Higher-earnings alternativeMaine Maritime Academy$113,298 earnings
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickMaine Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$113,298+$35,365 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$23,414-$992 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · lower cost
Admission rate58.2%54.1%
Explore Maine Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Bernard M Baruch College$3,033 average net price
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickCUNY Bernard M Baruch College
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$82,748+$4,815 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$3,033-$21,373 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · lower cost
Admission rate58.2%47.5%
Explore CUNY Bernard M Baruch College →
Similar profilePennsylvania State University-Main CampusMatched across several measures
Comparison with Rutgers University-New Brunswick
MeasureRutgers University-New BrunswickPennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$77,933$76,659-$1,274 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Average annual net price$24,406$19,550-$4,856 vs Rutgers University-New Brunswick · lower cost
Admission rate58.2%91.2%
Explore Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus →

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