College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Suffolk University

MAMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #668 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Suffolk University in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Suffolk University is a private nonprofit university in Boston whose degree mix is led by Business, and return is well above average. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the model attributes more of that to what it cannot explain than to the factors it measures.

The earnings picture varies by program. The largest program, Marketing, earns less than Finance, which is both the second-largest and the highest-paid program.

A student's choice of field matters a great deal here. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is wide.

Yet Pell students complete at a rate slightly above the cohort as a whole, so access and mobility sit around the average and around the average. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and an estimated share of graduates continues to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure captures the typical outcome.

Suffolk University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
82.3%
Six-year completion[2]
60.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$74,456

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$25,702
Median student debt[4]
$26,889
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$38,234

Suffolk University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Suffolk University is a private nonprofit university in Boston, Massachusetts, enrolling 4,268 undergraduates. Its composite standing falls near the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 82.3% of applicants, a share higher than the 71.2% median at comparable institutions (same type and size). First-year retention stands at 75.4%, below the 83.4% median for comparable institutions.

The six-year graduation rate is 60.9%, also below the 68.8% median at comparable institutions. An estimated 19.0% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year figure counts only the first-time full-time cohort and describes a majority of the student body.

The four are spread across a wide range. Return is the strongest (84th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (12th percentile).

Access and mobility sit near the middle of the field (51st and 49th percentiles).

Return is the clearest strength in Suffolk University’s Azimuth profile, but affordability is its weakest area. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places return in the 84th percentile and access in the 51st percentile.

Mobility stands in the 49th percentile, while affordability is in the 12th percentile. Strong return standing sits alongside a much lower affordability standing, making cost estimates especially relevant here.

29.9% of undergraduates at Suffolk University receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,090 and 1,300.

The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 24 and 28. Azimuth ranks Suffolk University #721 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 62.3%, 1.4 percentage points above the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (60.9%). Azimuth ranks the university #753 on mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $14,014 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Suffolk University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#668
Massachusetts#33
Northeast#173

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 49
Access & reach
National percentile: 51
Affordability
National percentile: 12
Return on investment
National percentile: 84

01 / Suffolk University briefing

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

At Suffolk University, the published cost of attendance is $65,281, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $47,550, and room and board are $21,326.

For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $29,618. Aid offsets $35,663 of the published cost on average, though individual bills can differ.

The is $2,247 above the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 12th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The higher-than-peer net price and low affordability position point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Suffolk University is $65,281 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #1,245 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest family-income band (under $30,000) average $24,745, those in the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) average $25,702, and those in the highest band (over $110,000) average $36,264. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,519.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $29,618 across all income bands. That is $2,247 above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Tuition and fees are $47,550, and aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $35,663 against the sticker price. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $26,889 in federal student loans, $2,690 above the peer median of $24,199.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $38,234 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $306 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$25,702

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Suffolk University

Federal borrowing is widespread at Suffolk University, with 94.6% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $26,889.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $24,199, leaving Suffolk’s median $2,690 above that benchmark. The borrowing rate and above-peer median show that federal debt is a common part of the financing picture here.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $38,234.

The earnings figures support a comparatively strong return picture at Suffolk University, although its debt comparison with peers is less favorable. Graduates working and not enrolled earn a median of $74,456 four years after completion, in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $14,014 more than the model expects for similar students.

The earnings scenarios range from $54,904 in a downside case to $85,624 in an upside case, with $74,456 as the typical scenario. Median federal debt is $2,690 above the $24,199 peer median, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $306 a month if repaid over ten years.

Above-expected earnings and higher-than-peer debt point in different directions.

Parent borrowers, a separate population from student borrowers, have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $38,234. For borrowers with median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $306 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
$26,889
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$38,234

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$306/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$486/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 / Suffolk University briefing

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

Azimuth places Suffolk University at the 84th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $74,456, in the 83rd percentile nationally.

That is $6,206 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $14,014 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 90th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds $4,046.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,968. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $329.

Suffolk University has a strong early-career earnings picture, with median earnings of $74,456 four years after completion among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that earnings measure in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawing on an earnings cohort of 1,406 completers.

Program-mix scenarios put typical earnings at $74,456, with a downside scenario of $54,904 and an upside scenario of $85,624. An estimated 29.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The high earnings standing and modeled range point to solid early-career pay, though outcomes differ by program mix.

Suffolk University posts median earnings of $74,456 four years after completion, placing its earnings in the 83rd percentile. Against the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $68,250, the university’s figure stands $6,206 above.

Graduates earn about $14,014 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, sit in the 90th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,046. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,968.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $329. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix put earnings at $54,904 on the downside and $85,624 on the upside.

Azimuth ranks the university #237 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and the expectation model both point upward.

Finance has the highest program earnings figure, with 114 degrees awarded and median earnings of $90,090 four years after completion. Accounting had 63 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $86,396.

The program-mix model sets a downside earnings scenario of $54,904, a typical scenario of $74,456, and an upside scenario of $85,624. Other upper-end program results include Information Science/Studies at $86,406 and Accounting at $86,396, four years after completion.

The scenarios are modeled rather than observed groups, and the program figures show why earnings can differ across fields.

Suffolk University presents a mixed value picture: borrowing deserves close attention alongside graduate earnings. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,889.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, placing the university above it by $2,690. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $306 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowers using Parent PLUS have median debt of $38,234, a separate borrowing measure. For aid recipients, the average net price is $29,618.

That is what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Graduates earn about $14,014 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations is the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

That figure offers a favorable earnings signal, but debt above the peer median remains the counterweight.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,046
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$9,968
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$14,014

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 / Suffolk University briefing

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

Suffolk University has an admission rate of 82.3%, so its reported applicant-pool outcome is broader than the comparable-institution midpoint. That rate is above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size), without indicating any one applicant’s chance of admission.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
82.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1090
Reported average
1216
Approximate upper endpoint
1300

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 / Suffolk University briefing

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

Suffolk University’s higher-earning fields center on business and information-oriented options, with a more moderate result among the programs shown. Four years after completion, Finance records median earnings of $90,090 and 114 degrees awarded.

Information Science/Studies follows with median earnings of $86,406 across 38 degrees awarded. Accounting reports median earnings of $86,396 four years after completion, with 63 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate level, Political Science has median earnings of $73,484 and 62 degrees awarded. The figures show that earnings vary across these fields, even among programs with substantial numbers of degrees awarded.

Business accounts for 39.0% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, making it the largest program family at Suffolk University. Published earnings data cover 18 bachelor’s fields, with the largest programs spanning business, communication, and legal studies.

Suffolk University's bachelor's degrees are anchored in business, with Business accounting for 39.0% of degrees awarded. Communication & Journalism follows at 12.9%, and Social Sciences at 11.0%.

Across 18 programs with published four-year earnings, the largest by degrees awarded is Marketing at 121 degrees awarded, followed by Finance at 114 and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication at 96. The highest-earning program is Finance, where graduates earn a median of $90,090 four years after completion.

Information Science/Studies follows at $86,406, from 38 degrees awarded, and Accounting at $86,396 with 63 degrees awarded. The largest program, Marketing, earns a median of $71,855, while Finance, the second-largest, is also the highest-earning.

Business Administration and Management and Non-Professional Legal Studies round out the largest programs, with medians of $71,855 and $70,274 respectively. The earnings pattern is concentrated in business fields, with the highest medians in finance, information science, and accounting.

The largest programs span marketing, finance, and communication, and the best-paid ones sit in finance and accounting rather than in the communication fields that award nearly as many degrees. 12.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Marketing 121 degrees awarded
$71,855
Finance and Financial Management Services 114 degrees awarded
$90,090
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication 96 degrees awarded
$66,709
Business Administration, Management and Operations 93 degrees awarded
$71,855
Non-Professional Legal Studies 82 degrees awarded
$70,274
Psychology, General 73 degrees awarded
$54,117

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 / Suffolk University briefing

How does Suffolk University serve students from different backgrounds?

Suffolk University’s completion figures show Pell recipients ahead of the overall first-time full-time cohort. The six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 60.9%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 62.3%, above the overall rate by 1.4 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $14,014 more than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations in the 90th percentile.

Pell completion above the overall rate and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Suffolk University is a private nonprofit university in Boston with a fairly open entry point, admitting 82.3% of applicants. Its 4,268 undergraduates include 29.9% receiving Pell Grants, and an estimated 19.0% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These measures describe admission, Pell participation, and transfer pathways into the university rather than later outcomes.

06 / Suffolk University briefing

What colleges are similar to Suffolk 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 Suffolk University.

Admissions peerUniversity of New Hampshire-Main Campus88.2% admitted
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityUniversity of New Hampshire-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$71,253-$3,203 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$23,805-$5,813 vs Suffolk University · lower cost
Admission rate82.3%88.2%
Explore University of New Hampshire-Main Campus →
Higher-admission alternativeAmerican International College99.6% admitted
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityAmerican International College
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$71,565-$2,891 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$23,274-$6,344 vs Suffolk University · lower cost
Admission rate82.3%99.6%
Nearby alternativeStonehill CollegeNearby option · MA
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityStonehill College
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$73,137-$1,319 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$33,016+$3,398 vs Suffolk University · higher cost
Admission rate82.3%66.3%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis$131,813 earnings
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$131,813+$57,357 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$31,817+$2,199 vs Suffolk University · higher cost
Admission rate82.3%89.8%
Explore University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis →
Lower-cost alternativeCentral Connecticut State University$16,857 average net price
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityCentral Connecticut State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$67,245-$7,211 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$16,857-$12,761 vs Suffolk University · lower cost
Admission rate82.3%73.3%
Explore Central Connecticut State University →
Similar profileTouro UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Suffolk University
MeasureSuffolk UniversityTouro University
Peer earnings · 4 years$74,456$73,235-$1,221 vs Suffolk University
Average annual net price$29,618$29,627+$9 vs Suffolk University · higher cost
Admission rate82.3%60.8%

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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