College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Vermont

VTLarge public institution · Overall rank #729 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Vermont #729 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Vermont is a public university in Burlington, Vermont, where the degree mix is led by Biological Sciences, Business, and Natural Resources & Conservation. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts from them.

Return is modestly below average. Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole, and access is around the average.

The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, while the highest pays closer to it, a spread that matters for families weighing the sticker price. The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, 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 much smaller.

University of Vermont at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.3%
Six-year completion[2]
78.6%
Four-year earnings[3]
$62,009

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,339
Median student debt[4]
$20,951
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$48,000

University of Vermont rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Vermont is a public university in Burlington, Vermont, enrolling 11,743 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (50th percentile).

The shape is a public campus where mobility is the strongest and return the weakest, with access and affordability sitting between them. The university admits 65.3% of applicants, a rate that is lower than the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Retention runs above the median for comparable institutions: 89.2% return after the first year, against a median of 83.1%. Completion also exceeds the peer figure, with 78.6% finishing within six years compared to a median of 65.0%.

An estimated 10.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body. The four pillars are spread out: mobility is the strongest, while return is the weakest. Access and affordability sit in the middle.

Mobility is the clearest strength for University of Vermont, while return is the weakest part of its profile. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth puts mobility in the 78th percentile.

In that cohort, access is in the 51st percentile, affordability in the 48th percentile, and return in the 30th percentile. The higher mobility reading and lower return reading leave a mixed overall picture.

13.2% of undergraduates at University of Vermont receive Pell Grants, the federal aid measure that shapes financial access at the university. Azimuth ranks the university #713 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Those Pell recipients complete at 69.1%, 9.5 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (78.6%). The access pillar rests on both the share of undergraduates receiving that federal aid and the completion gap that separates them from the overall cohort.

Azimuth ranks the university #327 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits alongside the university's rank for mobility and the completion picture for those Pell recipients.

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

University of Vermont rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#729

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 78
Access & reach
National percentile: 51
Affordability
National percentile: 48
Return on investment
National percentile: 30

01 / University of Vermont briefing

University of Vermont cost & financial aid[6][7]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, University of Vermont reported sticker charges for the 2026-27 academic year of $16,606 in-state tuition, $44,646 out-of-state tuition, and $2,908 in required fees. The federal published cost of attendance is $35,649, setting the overall sticker total before aid.

For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $19,343. Financial aid reduces that published total by $16,306 on average.

That is $3,709 above the peer median of $15,634 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 48th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The above-peer price and middle-of-coverage affordability standing give a mixed cost picture.

At University of Vermont, the published cost of attendance is $35,649, and aid recipients’ average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, varies across family-income bands. It is $11,127 for families in the lowest income band, $13,373 for the next band, $14,339 for the middle band, $20,926 for the next-highest band, and $25,775 for families in the highest income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,648. Azimuth ranks the university #734 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 46% of the published cost and offsets $16,306. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $19,343.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, placing the university’s average $3,709 above that benchmark. The higher average price and the peer comparison point in the same direction.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,951, and 93.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt is $875 above the $20,076 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $48,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,339

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Vermont

Borrowing is widespread at University of Vermont: 93.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans, and borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $20,951. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median of $20,076, placing the university $875 above that benchmark.

Parent PLUS borrowers are separate; their median borrowing is $48,000. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 54% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $34,870 cumulatively.

It reported 52% of graduates with federal loans, including graduates who may also have private loans. The average cumulative federal amount was $18,804 per federal borrower. Private borrowers averaged $51,165 cumulatively.

Graduates of University of Vermont earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students, a gap in the 7th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, the median four years after finishing is $62,009.

That figure sits $3,601 below the peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size). That earnings level falls in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $45,366 on the downside to $82,603 on the upside, with $62,009 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish hold a median of $20,951 in federal loans, $875 above the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month. Earnings fall short of the peer median and the model's expectation, while debt sits above the peer median.

Parent borrowing is a separate part of the family cost picture. For Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $48,000.

The median federal student loan debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 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
$20,951
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$48,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$238/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$610/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 / University of Vermont briefing

University of Vermont career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students. That earnings-beyond-expectations result, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in Azimuth’s 7th 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 $8,307. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $24,865.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $62,009, in the 57th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; earnings are below it by $3,601.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 30th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer comparison and model comparison point in the same direction.

University of Vermont graduates have middle-range earnings four years after completion. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,009, placing four-year earnings in the 57th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort includes 2,346 completers. Earnings scenarios, built from the program mix rather than observed groups, show how outcomes can differ across fields.

An estimated 33.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The median describes early post-completion pay, while the estimate signals that further study is also part of the picture.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $62,009, at the 57th percentile. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $65,610, leaving the university $3,601 below that mark.

Azimuth ranks University of Vermont #1,034 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students.

That result sits at the 7th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,307.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $24,865. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,404.

The program mix here leans toward the biological sciences, business, and natural resources, with a smaller but notable share of degrees in engineering and nursing. Estimated from that mix, the downside earnings scenario is $45,366 and the upside is $82,603.

An estimated 33.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings differ substantially across the earnings scenarios at University of Vermont. At four years after completion, the downside earnings scenario is $45,366, while the upside scenario is $82,603.

Among the higher program medians at that horizon, Electrical Engineering completers earn $95,036, Mechanical Engineering completers earn $83,438, and Nursing completers earn $82,571. The typical earnings scenario is $62,009, between the downside and upside scenarios.

At University of Vermont, borrowing at completion sits close to peer borrowing, but the earnings and price measures offer little offset. Borrowers who completed had median federal student loan debt of $20,951, above the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $875.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students.

Aid recipients faced an average net price, what they pay after grants and scholarships, of $19,343, above the $15,634 peer median by $3,709. Below-expected earnings, debt above peers, and a higher net price point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,307
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$24,865
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$16,558

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 / University of Vermont briefing

University of Vermont acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Vermont admitted 18,576 of 25,434 first-year applicants and enrolled 2,810, according to its 2025-26 Common Data Set. The federal admission rate is 65.3%, below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
65.3%
25th percentile
1300
Median
1360
75th percentile
1430

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Vermont briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Vermont?[12]

Earnings differ sharply across the university’s larger and higher-earning fields, so a prospective major matters to the return picture. Four years after completion, Electrical Engineering reports median earnings of $95,036 from 19 degrees awarded, and Mechanical Engineering reports $83,438 with 88 degrees awarded.

These are higher-earning fields within the program mix, though their award totals differ. At a more moderate earnings level, Natural Resources Conservation and Research shows $46,986 four years after completion and 213 degrees awarded.

Psychology reports $52,805 alongside 157 degrees awarded. The contrast between the engineering figures and these larger moderate-earning fields shows why the schoolwide earnings figure does not describe every field equally.

Biological Sciences is the largest program family at University of Vermont, accounting for 12.5% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, though the largest fields show markedly different earnings. Published earnings cover 40 bachelor’s programs, measured four years after completion.

The spread across these large fields makes the intended program central to the earnings picture.

The University of Vermont awards bachelor's degrees across 40 programs with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is led by Biological Sciences, which accounts for 12.5% of degrees awarded, followed closely by Business and Natural Resources & Conservation, each at 9.8%.

The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 217 degrees awarded, with Natural Resources Conservation and Research next at 213 and Psychology at 157. The highest-earning programs are concentrated in engineering.

Electrical Engineering graduates report the top median, at $95,036 four years after completion, though the program awards only 19 degrees a year. Mechanical Engineering is larger, at 88 degrees awarded, with a median of $83,438.

Business Administration and Management, the largest program, also sits among the top earners with a median of $82,284. Computer Science rounds out the strongest earners at $81,160, from 90 degrees awarded.

The pattern shows a university where the largest programs are not the best-paid ones. Natural Resources Conservation and Research, the second-largest program, has a median of $46,986, well below the top earners.

Across all fields, 24.6% of degrees are in STEM, and four-year earnings for fields where many graduates continue to graduate study may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 217 degrees awarded
$82,284
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 213 degrees awarded
$46,986
Psychology, General 157 degrees awarded
$52,805
Biology, General 115 degrees awarded
$50,813
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 107 degrees awarded
$82,571
Political Science and Government 92 degrees awarded
$63,279

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 / University of Vermont briefing

How does University of Vermont serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is University of Vermont’s strongest Azimuth pillar, reaching the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 78.6%, and Pell recipients in that cohort complete at 69.1%, below the overall rate by 9.5 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $16,558 less than the model expects for similar students, placing earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—in the 7th percentile. Mobility and completion are stronger parts of the picture than earnings beyond the model’s expectation.

University of Vermont enrolls 11,743 undergraduates, and 13.2% of them receive Pell Grants. Applicants are admitted at 65.3%, and an estimated 10.5% of undergraduates enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 51st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The enrollment scale, Pell share, and transfer estimate describe access alongside an admission rate that admits a majority of applicants.

06 / University of Vermont briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Vermont?[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 University of Vermont.

Admissions peerUniversity of the Pacific71.3% admitted
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontUniversity of the Pacific
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$81,820+$19,811 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$25,447+$6,104 vs University of Vermont · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%71.3%
Explore University of the Pacific →
Higher-admission alternativeSaint Michael's College84.5% admitted
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontSaint Michael's College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$60,903-$1,106 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$25,239+$5,896 vs University of Vermont · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%84.5%
Nearby alternativeSaint Michael's CollegeNearby option · VT
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontSaint Michael's College
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$60,903-$1,106 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$25,239+$5,896 vs University of Vermont · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%84.5%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville$81,045 earnings
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontUniversity of Alabama in Huntsville
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$81,045+$19,036 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$18,796-$547 vs University of Vermont · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%68.6%
Explore University of Alabama in Huntsville →
Lower-cost alternativeSUNY College of Technology at Canton$15,268 average net price
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontSUNY College of Technology at Canton
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$57,422-$4,587 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$15,268-$4,075 vs University of Vermont · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%92.2%
Similar profileKean UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Vermont
MeasureUniversity of VermontKean University
Peer earnings · 4 years$62,009$59,472-$2,537 vs University of Vermont
Average annual net price$19,343$12,447-$6,896 vs University of Vermont · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%75.9%
Explore Kean University →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance 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