That is what we are going to do here. I am not going to tell you whether Colgate University is the right school for your child. No article can tell you that, because it depends on what your child wants to study, what your family can afford, and how your child would feel living there. But if you are going to weigh this university as an option, you should get to know it well first.
What kind of school it is and where it stands
Let us start with the basics: where Colgate University fits on the map of institutions in this country.
It is a private, nonprofit, four-year-or-longer bachelor's college focused on the arts and sciences. The system that classifies colleges in the United States—Carnegie—places it in its most selective admissions group and describes it as highly residential: at least half of its undergraduate students live in institution-owned or institution-controlled housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attend full time. In plain English: commuting back and forth from their parents’ home is not common here. College life takes place on campus.
Although it reports offerings through the master’s level, it is primarily an undergraduate school. If your child is looking for a specific graduate program, that fact does not confirm that the program exists or that it connects with the undergraduate program—that is something to ask the program directly.
Colgate University is in Hamilton, New York, in Madison County. The setting is rural and far from any large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, you need to think separately about how your child would get there, how often, and how much it would cost. The official data only identifies the school’s location; it does not calculate your trip.
One note worth making right away: this institution is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in the national directory, 138 do have at least one of those three designations. Colgate’s not having them says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child would feel there—that is something to learn by visiting and speaking with current students, not by reading a checkbox.
The size of the community your child would join
Colgate University had 3,146 students enrolled in the official fall count: 3,131 undergraduates and only 15 graduate students. Above all, it is an undergraduate school. Compared with the other 941 selective private schools in this same census, it is on the larger side: between one and three out of every ten have more students. But being “large” for its category does not mean it has more options for your child, just as being small would not guarantee more attention. That is something to ask program by program, not school by school.
Within that community, there are more women than men: 56 out of every 100 students are women. And here is a figure worth pausing over: 9 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority, and compared with similar schools, its position is below the midpoint of the group. This does not make the school bad or good—it only tells you who is enrolled today. If your child will be one of the few, it is worth asking during the visit which student group, cultural center, or person in the admissions office speaks your child’s language and understands your child’s experience.
Another figure says something meaningful: fewer than 25 out of every 100 first-time students were permanent residents of New York State. Most of the people who arrive here come from elsewhere. To a large extent, this is a community of people who also moved to be there.
How the academic year works and what students study
The calendar is semester-based: two long terms of about 15 weeks. The school stated that it accepts credit for AP exams, but not for life experience. Accepting AP does not mean it automatically grants credit for every exam—request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not assume there will be savings until you have it in hand.
In one year, Colgate University awarded 746 bachelor’s degrees across 16 fields of study. But the distribution is not even: social sciences accounted for 266 of those 746 degrees, or 36 out of every 100. It is a school with a broad range of offerings on paper, but with a strong concentration in one area. This counts degrees awarded, not quality or learning experience. Before deciding, ask about the exact major that interests your child: how many students graduated in it, how long it took them, and what the actual curriculum is like.
The student-to-faculty ratio is 9 to 1—one of the lowest among comparable schools, in the bottom quartile among 941 similar institutions. It is a number that sounds good, and it probably is. But by itself, it does not measure actual class size or faculty availability outside the classroom. Ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.
The institution also reports structured opportunities: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, and pathways to teacher certification, including state approval of the program. These are elements that exist in the official record; their actual scope should be confirmed by asking directly.
Getting in: what the application requires and who gets a place
This is where many families feel the true weight of this school. Let us take it piece by piece.
Colgate University does not have open admission. Of the nine considerations reviewed in the federal report (not counting standardized tests or legacy status), it marks six as required: high school record, GPA, required college-preparatory coursework, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. It also considers—even though they are not required—class rank, work experience, and whether a family member attended. Your child cannot change that last factor. If it does not apply in your child’s case, do not spend energy thinking about it; spend that energy on what is within your child’s control. The published application fee is $60.
Now for the figures that truly carry weight:
| Measure | Figure | Out of every 100 |
|---|---|---|
| Applicants 2023 | 21,130 | — |
| Admitted | 2,526 | 12 out of every 100 |
| Enrolled among those admitted | — | 32 out of every 100 |
Twelve out of every 100 applicants received an offer of admission. Compared with 942 selective private schools, it is among those that admit the smallest shares: nine out of ten schools in that group admit a higher percentage. This does not measure whether your child is good enough. It measures how many places were offered relative to how many people applied. What I can tell you very clearly is this: your child’s list needs schools with different levels of selectivity, not only schools like this one.
And here is a figure that almost no one looks at, but that matters: out of every 100 admitted students, only 32 ultimately enrolled. The other 68 had the letter in hand and did not attend. Receiving a yes is not the same as deciding to go. When the time comes, the school’s selectivity is not what makes the decision—put the admission letters side by side and compare net price, major, and distance before the deposit deadline.
Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required here. Among those who enrolled, only 21 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and among those students, the middle half scored between 710 and 750 in reading and writing and between 720 and 780 in math. Those numbers are neither a minimum nor a guarantee—they come from students who were already admitted and chose to submit them.
Regarding transfers: few students leave here before graduating—7 out of every 100 from the cohort that entered in 2017 are listed as having transferred to another school, a low figure compared with similar schools. Few arrive as transfer students as well: 28 students in the fall of 2023. If your child were to transfer here from another school, or from here to another school, no figure in this report guarantees which credits would be accepted. Get it in writing, with the course list in hand, before moving your child.
The sticker price and what families actually pay
At Colgate University, among 40 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $3,341. Among 31 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $17,685; among 81 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $53,119. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $49,778 between the average for the lowest-income band (40 students) and the average for the highest-income band (81 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $26,954.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, this school falls in the least expensive quartile for the lowest-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it is inexpensive for your family. It is a figure that carries weight when you build the list of schools to apply to.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours comes first. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The aid letter you receive is what governs your situation.
Grants, Pell, and loans: who receives what
Out of every 100 degree-seeking students at Colgate University, 47 received some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. The other 53 received none of that aid. Compared with similar schools, this share falls in the quartile where grants and scholarships reach fewer students—although among those who do receive them, the annual average is $55,322.
Only 13 out of every 100 students received Pell Grants, the federal aid for low-income families. Here, aid that does not have to be repaid reaches fewer than half of students, and Pell reaches very few. Do not assume it will come through—request the complete list of grants and scholarships, who qualifies, and when each application is due.
And regarding loans, there is one figure worth understanding clearly: only 12 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 year. Most students here were not awarded a federal loan. Among those who did receive one, the average amount for the year was $5,228—one of the lowest figures compared with similar schools.
The fact that most students did not use a federal loan does not mean they covered the year without difficulty. They may have had grants or scholarships, employment, family savings, or other debt that this report does not record. And that average of $5,228 does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit card debt. Nor is it the debt a student has upon graduation—to calculate that, you would have to add up all four years, and that number is not in this report.
The institution also reports payment options: a prepaid tuition plan, installment payments, and participation in a Promise program. It is worth asking the financial aid office about them directly.
Living there: housing, athletics, the library, and support
If your child enrolls full time in the first year, living on campus is not optional—it is required. Institution-controlled housing has a capacity of 2,958 students. This means that when you compare the price of this school with another, room and board cannot be removed from the calculation from day one. Tuition alone, without that expense, is misleading.
Colgate does not offer any distance education courses—at either the undergraduate or graduate level, and zero students were taking all their classes online in the latest count. If your child works or cares for someone at home, the schedule has to work in person, with no reported exception.
It does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in football, basketball, and cross-country or track and field. This figure does not say which division each sport competes in or whether it awards scholarships—that is something to ask the coach of the sport directly, in writing.
Regarding ROTC: the school did not mark any opportunity in its official report. That does not prove that there is no nearby pathway; it only means none was marked in that field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
The library operates with employed staff, has physical and digital collections, and offers interlibrary loan—a full range of services according to the report. Among the services and support the institution reports are combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon program completion, and participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Those who stay and those who finish
Here we come to one of the strongest figures in this entire profile.
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 93 out of every 100 students met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled or had already completed their bachelor’s degree the following year. It is among the highest rates for comparable selective private schools.
For graduation, the figure is even more striking: out of every 100 students who entered in 2017, 91 graduated within six years. At four years, the figure was already 84 out of every 100—only 7 points below the longer time frame. It is among the schools with the highest graduation levels among its peers.
At eight years, the figure rises to 90 out of every 100 with a degree or certificate from this school, and among those who received Pell Grants, the figure was 88 out of every 100—only 3 points below the rest.
These figures are real, and they are good. But they are not a promise for your child. They show what happened to a specific cohort at this school under the conditions that existed at the time. What is within your control, and your child’s, is making sure your child enters with credits in order and knows from the first semester who the advisor is and when registration opens for courses in the major.
What this information can do for your family
You now know one of the three pieces you need to decide: what Colgate University is, how it admits students, how much it costs based on your family’s income, how it distributes grants, scholarships, and loans, and how likely a student who enters there is to finish with a degree.
What this article cannot know is what your child wants to study, how far from home your child is willing to live, and how much your family can or is willing to pay. You and your child need to combine those two pieces with what you have just read here.
If your child needs a large Latino community, it is worth investigating what exists today beyond the 9 out of every 100. And if the selectivity of 12 out of every 100 concerns you, remember that your child’s list should include schools at different levels—this can be one of several, not the only bet.
You are not alone in putting this puzzle together. But you are the one who has to assemble the pieces.
The information in this article comes from data reported by Colgate University to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Colgate University or any government agency; this piece organizes and explains public data to help you understand it.