What kind of school it is, in a sentence you can repeat
Nazareth University is a private, nonprofit, four-year university classified by Carnegie as a master’s institution with larger programs. IPEDS—the federal system that reports these data—identifies it as a school that awards degrees from the bachelor’s through the doctoral level, although that does not tell you whether the exact major your child is interested in is offered there or whether it connects to a graduate program. You confirm that by asking about the specific program, not by assuming it from the institutional level.
In the Carnegie profile based on 2019-20 data, it appears as a small, four-year, highly residential school: at that time, at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time. Carnegie also places it in its selective admissions group. Whether living on campus makes sense for your child is another question—one that depends on where you live and how far away your child is willing to go—but the data point is clear: here, living on campus is the norm, not the exception. And that cost is almost never listed alongside tuition in the brochure. Ask for it separately.
Nazareth is in Rochester, within Monroe County, in that city’s metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area but outside the principal city’s center. What living there feels like is something you can know only by going there. If your child plans to live at home, drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child would have classes. GPS almost never tells the whole truth.
One more thing about the labels it does not have: Nazareth is not certified as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in the federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; Nazareth is not among them. That does not tell you which communities it serves today or how your child will feel on that campus. Ask about that directly by speaking with someone who already studies there.
The community’s actual size and who makes it up
Nazareth had 2,439 students enrolled in the official fall count: a medium-sized student body, neither among the largest nor among the smallest, compared with similar selective private schools. But that figure combines everyone. Of the total, 1,900 are undergraduate students and 539 are graduate students. If your child is entering an undergraduate program, the number that matters to your child is 1,900, not the total.
As for who makes up that undergraduate community, here is what the fall 2023 report shows:
| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino | 8 out of every 100 |
| Between 25 and 64 years old | 2 out of every 100 |
| Women | 72 out of every 100 |
| First-time students from the same state | 83 out of every 100 |
Eight out of every hundred is a small minority, and it falls below the midpoint among similar selective private schools that report this data point. That neither removes Nazareth from your list nor puts it on the list. It only tells you who is enrolled today. If your child will be one of the few, the question worth asking during the visit is specific: what student group, what cultural center, who in the office speaks Spanish. The school has that information, not the federal census.
The overwhelming majority are women—72 out of every 100—and there are almost no adult students. In that sense, it is a fairly young community and fairly homogeneous by gender. And note something interesting about its size: when IPEDS adjusts enrollment to estimate how many students are actually enrolled on a “full-time equivalent” basis, it calculates 2,296 from the 2,439 people enrolled. It is an estimate, not a count of actual academic course loads.
How academics work
The year at Nazareth is organized into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks. The school accepts credit for AP exams and military training, but it did not check the box for credit for life experience. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth without any cushioning: saying that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam or that the credit will count toward your child’s major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
In the most recently reported year, Nazareth awarded 543 bachelor’s degrees across 21 different fields of study—although some of those rows report zero degrees, so 21 does not mean 21 active majors. By far the largest field was health professions: 179 of the 543 degrees, or 33 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, Nazareth is in the top quartile for the number of different fields of study appearing in its detailed data. Its offerings are broad on paper but concentrated in practice around health. If your child’s intended major is something else, it is worth confirming that the program actually exists and is not merely a row with zero.
One figure that often attracts attention: the ratio of students to full-time-equivalent faculty is 9 to 1, one of the lowest among similar schools—in the group’s bottom quartile. That sounds good, and it probably is, but a low aggregate ratio does not directly measure the size of first-year classes or how much individual attention each student receives. Ask directly: how many students are in the introductory classes for the major your child is considering.
The institution also reports structured paths outside the traditional classroom: study abroad, teacher certification preparation, and state-approved teacher specialization programs. If your child wants to become a teacher or spend a semester abroad, there is a reported path here; ask about capacity, costs, and requirements.
What getting in is like: the application and the actual odds
Nazareth does not have open admissions. It reviews several components before saying yes: the high school record, GPA, the curriculum completed, a personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English proficiency exam when applicable. Those are required. It also considers, if you submit them, class rank, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, and whether a family member studied there. Your child cannot change that last factor—if it does not apply, it is better to invest energy in what is within your child’s control. The published application fee, by the way, is $0.
Now for the numbers that really matter. In the 2023 cycle, Nazareth received 3,614 first-time applications and offered admission to 2,873 applicants. That is 79 out of every 100—seven or eight out of every ten. It is a percentage slightly above the midpoint among similar selective private schools: accessible, but not automatic. But here is the figure that is discussed less often: out of every 100 admitted students, only 16 ultimately enrolled at Nazareth that fall. The other 84 had a place and did not take it. Do not read that as a mark against the school—the federal record does not say why each person made that decision. What it does tell you is this: receiving an admission letter is not the same as deciding to attend, and what others were offered does not predict what you will be offered. Wait for your letter with the actual net price before deciding whether this school stays on the list.
As for tests, the SAT and ACT are optional. Of the students who enrolled, only 13 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and among them the middle half scored between 610 and 680 in reading and writing and between 560 and 650 in mathematics. Those ranges describe students who had already enrolled and chose to submit their scores—not all applicants—and they do not prove that the scores determined anything. That 610 is not a minimum your child needs to reach.
And as for changing schools: among the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking a bachelor’s degree, 21 out of every 100 transferred to another institution without completing at Nazareth. That is a common share among similar schools. Transferring to another university is not failure; your child should know in advance how to request the documents needed to do so if that ever becomes necessary.
The sticker price and why it is not the actual price
At Nazareth University, among 47 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 $22,378. Among 50 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $28,829; among 192 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $33,978. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (47 students) and the average for the highest-income band (192 students) is $11,600. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $31,321.
Even after grants and scholarships were deducted, the average net price for the lowest-income families was $22,378 in the 2022-23 academic year. If that figure does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not indicate how different the cases within that band were; these data do not establish that some families were far below or above the published figure. 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 that arrives—and the debt that does too
The good news, stated in numbers: 99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students at Nazareth receive some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something is the norm here. The average among recipients was $22,519 for the year—but it is an average, encompassing some who received much more and others who received much less. The federal Pell Grant, reserved for low-income families, reached 26 out of every 100 students.
On the other side is debt. Out of every 100 undergraduate students, 74 received a federal loan in the 2022-23 school year—the majority, and a high share compared with similar schools: it falls on the high side of the table, with seven out of every ten similar schools reporting less borrowing than Nazareth. Borrowers received an average of $6,479 that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years, the total would be around $25,916, not including interest—and that calculation should be made before the first signature, not at the end. That average, moreover, covers only federal loans in the student’s name: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes end up signing for, bank debt, or credit cards.
Financing with debt is the norm here, not the exception. That does not determine whether your child will need it—your child’s situation depends on the actual aid letter and what your family can pay out of pocket. If a loan appears in that letter, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything.
The institution also reports offering a tuition installment payment plan, in case managing the cost month by month is more helpful than paying it all at once.
Campus life: housing, athletics, and support
Nazareth has its own housing and does not require all first-time students to live there—although that does not mean no program has such a requirement; ask about your child’s specific situation. The reported maximum capacity is 1,294 students. It also offers meal plans, with the number of meals varying by the selected plan. The existence of the option does not guarantee an available bed or a fixed price: ask in writing for the annual rate, the application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or you enter a waitlist.
For anyone considering the military route, Nazareth reports ROTC opportunities in two branches: Army and Air Force, but not Navy. Appearing in the report is not the same as being accepted—it is a place to start asking questions, including whether the program is completed on this campus or another one.
In athletics, Nazareth competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. The report specifically confirms membership in basketball and cross-country or track and field, although it does not specify the division or whether athletic scholarships are available—ask the coach of the sport your child is interested in directly.
As for distance education, Nazareth offers it at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, but in the fall count, fewer than 1 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load online. And the institution explicitly reported that it does not offer a complete undergraduate program that can be finished entirely through distance education. If your child needs that format, confirm its availability in writing for the specific major.
The library operates with hired staff, has physical and digital materials, and participates in interlibrary lending—it exceeds the threshold required by the government by a wide margin. Among the supports the institution reports are combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students and graduates, specific support for veterans and military service members, including participation in the Yellow Ribbon program, and a webpage dedicated to services for students with disabilities. The existence of these services on paper does not indicate how good they are in practice—you learn that by speaking with someone who already uses them.
The numbers that actually predict something: who stays and who finishes
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022 seeking a full-time bachelor’s degree—470 students—383 met the official retention criterion one year later: they were still enrolled there or had already graduated. That is 81 out of every 100, a result slightly above the midpoint among similar schools. The destinations of the remaining 87 are not identified in this data point: not returning is not the same as dropping out. In this count, someone who transferred and continues studying elsewhere is counted the same way as someone who stopped studying altogether.
Now graduation. Of the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking a bachelor’s degree—550 students—401 had the degree in hand six years later: 73 out of every 100. At the shorter four-year mark, the figure falls to 64 out of every 100—the nine-point gap between four and six years is real and worth keeping in mind when planning the family budget. Compared with similar selective private schools, Nazareth is in the top quartile for graduation: better than most of its peers.
It is a high figure, but it is still not a promise. It is what happened to the 2017 cohort. What is within your family’s control is making sure your child enters with credits in order and knows, from the first semester, who the academic advisor is and when to register for the courses required by the major.
One final figure takes a longer view: following a cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016—745 students, combining first-time students with those who already had prior college experience—72 out of every 100 had earned a Nazareth degree or certificate by the eight-year mark. Among Pell Grant recipients, that figure fell to 63 out of every 100—thirteen points below those who did not receive it. Whether your family qualifies for Pell today does not determine your child’s outcome, but if it applies, it is worth asking the school what specifically is available for those students: an assigned advisor, emergency aid, whether the institutional grant or scholarship renews each year. And get the answer in writing.
What this article cannot tell you
This article does not address what happens after graduation: no official employment, salary, or final debt data are included here. That requires another source, and we are not going to invent it.
How to bring all of this together with your plan
You now know in detail one of the three pieces you need to decide: what Nazareth University is, what it costs, how selective it is, and what happened to those who have already attended.
Your child’s role is to decide what to study, work hard on the application, and, if admitted, decide whether this is the place to spend the next several years. Your role is to complete the FAFSA, read the aid letter carefully, and ask the uncomfortable questions about housing, AP credits, and debt before signing anything. Neither of you does the other’s work.
Nazareth is neither the answer nor the obstacle. It is a real university with concrete figures that you now know better than you did ten minutes ago. With that, you can begin building the next part of the plan together with your child.
Source note: the data in this article come from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Nazareth University or any government agency; this article organizes public information to help you understand it.