College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Southern Connecticut State University

CTMedium public institution · Overall rank #336 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Southern Connecticut State University in the 77th percentile overall.

Who it’s a good fit for

Southern Connecticut State University is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut, where Health Professions and Business lead the degree mix and mobility is well above average. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain. Pell students complete at a rate slightly above the entering cohort as a whole, and access is above average.

Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than on to further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that Nursing, though not the biggest, is the best-paid.

Southern Connecticut State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
91.5%
Six-year completion[2]
49.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$59,787

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,437
Median student debt[4]
$22,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$23,770

Southern Connecticut State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Southern Connecticut State University, a public university in New Haven, Connecticut, enrolls 6,295 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it falls in the upper third of the field (77th percentile).

Southern Connecticut State University admits 91.5% of applicants, against a median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 77.9% return for a second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 49.9%, compared with a median of 49.1% for similar schools. An estimated 43.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate reflects only those who began as full-time first-year students and not the full student body.

Mobility is the strongest of the four , at the 87th percentile, while affordability is the weakest, at the 53rd percentile. Access sits at the 73rd percentile and return at the 56th percentile. The four pillars are spread across a wide band rather than clustered together.

Southern Connecticut State University is strongest on mobility, although affordability is the least favorable part of its Azimuth profile. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility is in the 87th percentile.

Access is in the 73rd percentile, and return is in the 56th percentile. Affordability, the weakest pillar, is in the 53rd percentile.

Strong mobility and access sit alongside an affordability result closer to the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

40.8% of undergraduates at Southern Connecticut State University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Southern Connecticut State University #397 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 50.7%, which is 0.8 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (49.9%). Azimuth ranks the university #194 for mobility. Graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Southern Connecticut State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#336

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 87
Access & reach
National percentile: 73
Affordability
National percentile: 53
Return on investment
National percentile: 56

Top-ranked majors

  1. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management#9
  2. Special Education and Teaching#14
  3. Social Work#25

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 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

Southern Connecticut State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at Southern Connecticut State University is $29,673. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $6,998 and required fees of $6,440 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $15,422.

Out-of-state tuition is $20,938. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,857.

Financial aid saves the average recipient $8,816 against the sticker price. That net price is $6,789 above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #670 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at Southern Connecticut State University is $29,673. Azimuth ranks the university #670 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $17,736, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $19,437, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $27,809. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,073.

Aid covers about 30% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving an of $20,857 across all bands. That figure is $6,789 above the peer median of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $22,250 in federal student loans, $1,021 above the peer median of $21,229. 89.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $23,770 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,437

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Southern Connecticut State University

At Southern Connecticut State University, 89.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, so borrowing is common. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $22,250.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, and the university's median is $1,021 above it. Parent PLUS borrowers are separate from student borrowers; their median borrowing is $23,770.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 73% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $29,018 in cumulative borrowing per borrower. Including 72% of graduates with federal loans, average cumulative federal borrowing was $23,091.

Including 15% of graduates with private loans, average cumulative private borrowing was $31,998.

Earnings for federally aided completers at Southern Connecticut State University reach a median of $59,787 four years after they finish. That level is at the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

It runs $2,486 above the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome sits at the 71st percentile. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix span from $49,177 on the downside to $80,050 on the upside, with $59,787 as the typical outcome.

The median federal debt among borrowers who complete is $22,250, $1,021 above the peer median. That balance corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings land above the peer median, while debt sits above it as well, leaving the investment picture mixed.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $23,770, a separate population from completing student federal-loan borrowers. For those student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 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
$22,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$23,770

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$253/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$302/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 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

Southern Connecticut State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Southern Connecticut State University has earnings above comparable peers, with Azimuth placing its return pillar in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations—the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students—stand at Azimuth’s 71st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,612.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,484. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $117.

Median earnings four years after completion are $59,787, in the 50th percentile. Comparable institutions, the same type and size, have a peer median, the middle value, of $57,301; the university is above it by $2,486. Above-expected earnings and the peer comparison point the same way.

Southern Connecticut State University graduates have median earnings of $59,787 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That school-level measure covers an earnings cohort of 2,390 completers, rather than a single field.

Azimuth places the earnings figure in the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. A typical earnings scenario, based on the program mix, is $59,787; it is a scenario rather than an observed group of graduates.

An estimated 30.3% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings measure and the typical scenario offer a similar central picture, while graduate study is part of the modeled program-mix context.

Southern Connecticut State University graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 71st percentile.

Median earnings are $59,787 four years after completion, in the 50th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $57,301, leaving the university $2,486 above it.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,612. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,484.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $117. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from a downside of $49,177 to an upside of $80,050.

Azimuth ranks Southern Connecticut State University #651 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and model expectation point in the same direction.

Nursing is the highest-earning large program, with 115 degrees awarded and median earnings of $98,870 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #82 nationally within its field. Business Administration and Management awarded 228 degrees and has $63,310 median earnings, with an Azimuth national rank of #209 in its field.

Its earnings are 1.20x the national median for its field. These program figures range from the larger business program to the higher-earning nursing program and the strongly benchmarked Special Education and Teaching program.

Earnings vary widely across the program mix at Southern Connecticut State University. The downside earnings scenario is $49,177, and the upside scenario is $80,050; neither represents an observed group of graduates.

The cost-and-return picture is mixed: graduate earnings exceed the model’s expectation, but both average price and borrower debt sit above comparable institutions. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $22,250.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $21,229, and Southern Connecticut State University is above it by $1,021. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $253 a month if repaid over ten years.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,857. It is above the $14,068 peer median by $6,789.

Graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point upward, while price and debt merit equal attention.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,612
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$1,484
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,096

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 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

Southern Connecticut State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 9,958 first-year applicants, 8,701 admitted applicants, and 1,308 enrolled students. Those counts describe a recent first-year admissions cycle.

The admission rate at Southern Connecticut State University is 91.5%, above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
91.5%
25th percentile
890
Median
1030
75th percentile
1170

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Southern Connecticut State University?[12]

The earnings spread across Southern Connecticut State University's largest programs is wide, and the highest-earning fields are not the ones that award the most degrees. Business Administration and Management, the largest program at 228 degrees awarded, shows median earnings of $63,310 four years after completion, and Azimuth ranks it #209 nationally within its field.

Liberal Arts and General Studies is the second-largest at 159 degrees awarded, with earnings of $53,411 and a national rank of #77. By contrast, Nursing awards 115 degrees a year and reports median earnings of $98,870, the highest among the university's large programs.

Azimuth ranks it #82 nationally and #1 in Connecticut. Psychology, with 125 degrees awarded, sits at the more moderate end of the earnings range at $50,642.

The university's strongest nationally ranked program is Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management at #9, with 20 degrees awarded and earnings of $53,522.

The university has 16 nationally ranked bachelor's programs. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management ranks #9 in its field nationally, with 20 degrees awarded and median earnings of $53,522 four years after completion.

The largest program is Business Administration and Management, with 228 degrees awarded, median earnings of $63,310, and a national rank of #209. Communication Disorders Sciences and Services is a program at $61,336, and it ranks #43 nationally and #1 in Connecticut with 53 degrees awarded.

Southern Connecticut State University awards bachelor's degrees across 16 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 22 with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is anchored by Health Professions, which accounts for 19.3% of degrees awarded, followed by Business at 14.0% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 9.8%.

The largest single programs are Business Administration and Management at 228 degrees awarded, Liberal Arts and General Studies at 159, and Psychology at 125. Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Facilities Management is the highest-ranked program in its field, at #1 in Connecticut.

It awards 20 degrees a year, and graduates earn a median of $53,522 four years after completion. Special Education and Teaching ranks #14 nationally and #1 in Connecticut within its field, with median earnings of $60,365.

The highest-earning program is Nursing, at $98,870 from 115 degrees a year, and it ranks #82 nationally and #1 in Connecticut within its field. Computer and Information Sciences follows at $87,705, with 49 degrees awarded.

Special Education and Teaching carries a benchmark ratio of 1.20x against the national median for its field. Strength is concentrated in health and public-service fields, where several programs rank at or near the top of the state.

The largest programs by degrees awarded sit in business and general studies, with earnings closer to the national median for their fields. Across all programs, 10.7% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 228 degrees awarded
$63,310
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 159 degrees awarded
$53,411
Psychology, General 125 degrees awarded
$50,642
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 115 degrees awarded
$98,870
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, General 92 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 88 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

How does Southern Connecticut State University serve students from different backgrounds?

Southern Connecticut State University stands out most on mobility. Its six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 49.9%, and Pell recipients complete within six years at 50.7%, above the overall rate by 0.8 percentage points.

Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 87th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 71st percentile.

Graduates earn about $5,096 more than the model expects for similar students. Pell completion above the overall rate and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

At Southern Connecticut State University, entry routes are broad: the university admits 91.5% of applicants and enrolls 6,295 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 40.8% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 43.4%.

Azimuth rates its access pillar in the 73rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. High admission, Pell participation, and transfer entry describe several ways into this public university.

06 / Southern Connecticut State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Southern Connecticut State 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 Southern Connecticut State University.

Admissions peerWilliam Paterson University of New Jersey90.1% admitted
Comparison with Southern Connecticut State University
MeasureSouthern Connecticut State UniversityWilliam Paterson University of New Jersey
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,787$59,272-$515 vs Southern Connecticut State University
Average annual net price$20,857$18,745-$2,112 vs Southern Connecticut State University · lower cost
Admission rate91.5%90.1%
Explore William Paterson University of New Jersey →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of BridgeportNearby option · CT
Comparison with Southern Connecticut State University
MeasureSouthern Connecticut State UniversityUniversity of Bridgeport
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,787$60,311+$524 vs Southern Connecticut State University
Average annual net price$20,857$27,807+$6,950 vs Southern Connecticut State University · higher cost
Admission rate91.5%83.0%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Mount Saint Vincent$83,648 earnings
Comparison with Southern Connecticut State University
MeasureSouthern Connecticut State UniversityUniversity of Mount Saint Vincent
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,787$83,648+$23,861 vs Southern Connecticut State University
Average annual net price$20,857$21,696+$839 vs Southern Connecticut State University · higher cost
Admission rate91.5%85.1%
Explore University of Mount Saint Vincent →
Lower-cost alternativeCUNY Lehman College$3,148 average net price
Comparison with Southern Connecticut State University
MeasureSouthern Connecticut State UniversityCUNY Lehman College
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,787$63,353+$3,566 vs Southern Connecticut State University
Average annual net price$20,857$3,148-$17,709 vs Southern Connecticut State University · lower cost
Admission rate91.5%56.6%
Explore CUNY Lehman College →
Similar profileWilliam Paterson University of New JerseyMatched across several measures
Comparison with Southern Connecticut State University
MeasureSouthern Connecticut State UniversityWilliam Paterson University of New Jersey
Peer earnings · 4 years$59,787$59,272-$515 vs Southern Connecticut State University
Average annual net price$20,857$18,745-$2,112 vs Southern Connecticut State University · lower cost
Admission rate91.5%90.1%
Explore William Paterson University of New Jersey →

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