This is what official U.S. government data say about University of Saint Joseph, in West Hartford, Connecticut. It will not tell you whether it is the right school for your child. Your family decides that. But it will give you firm ground from which to start looking.
What kind of school it really is
University of Saint Joseph is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution. The Carnegie system — the way the government classifies the nation’s colleges and universities by what they actually do — places it as a master’s university, with large graduate programs. It is a small, primarily residential school: in that system’s most recent snapshot, between 25 and 49 out of every 100 undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing.
Here is something worth understanding clearly, because it changes how you read everything else: at this school, graduate study carries more weight than undergraduate study. Of the 1,939 students enrolled in the official fall count, 879 are undergraduates and 1,060 are graduate students. If your child is about to begin a bachelor’s degree, the number that matters to them is 879, not the total. The total is inflated by master’s and doctoral students whose experience is not theirs.
The highest level the institution reports offering is the doctorate, and its general classification places it as a school that awards degrees, primarily bachelor’s degrees or higher. That does not mean the program your child wants is offered here or that undergraduate and graduate study are connected through a formal pathway. That must be asked program by program.
University of Saint Joseph is not listed as a historically Black college or university, tribal college or university, or land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this directory, 138 do carry one of those three designations; this one does not. That says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist, what student organizations are available, and, better yet, speak with someone already studying there.
The school is in West Hartford, within the Hartford metropolitan area. If your child is considering living at home, do not rely on the map: drive the route yourself on a weekday, at the time they would have class. The real travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
Who shares the classroom with your child
Among undergraduates, 18 out of every 100 students reported being Hispanic or Latino in the fall of 2023. They are not a majority, but this is not unusual either: compared with 941 similar private schools nationwide, that proportion places it in the top quarter. It is worth stating the limit of that comparison: the reference groups are formed by school type, not by state, so it does not account for Connecticut’s own demographic composition. Nor does it go down to the level of a specific program.
Women are a clear majority at this school: 70 out of every 100 undergraduate students. Adults ages 25 to 64 are a minority, just 9 out of every 100 — so if your child or you are considering this as an option for returning to school as an adult, it is helpful to know that now. And 77 out of every 100 first-time students reported a permanent address within the institution’s state: most come from nearby.
How the academic year works
The calendar uses semesters: two long terms, about 15 weeks each. The institution accepts credit for AP exams — although it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience — and it also accepts credit for military training. In addition, it enrolls high school students in credit-bearing college courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth many families discover late: saying “we accept AP” does not tell you what scores are required, how many credits are awarded, or whether those credits will count toward your child’s specific program. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for time or money saved until you have it in hand.
What is studied here
In the most recently reported year, University of Saint Joseph awarded 226 bachelor’s degrees, spread across 21 academic program families. But the offerings are not evenly distributed: health professions accounted for 103 of those 226 degrees, or 46 out of every 100. It is clearly a health-oriented school. Compared with nearly a thousand similar schools, it falls in the quarter with the greatest variety of academic program families represented in its catalog — although “represented in the catalog” does not mean each one has many degrees awarded; a row may report zero.
The student-to-instructional-faculty ratio is 9 to 1, one of the lowest reported among similar schools — it is in the lowest quarter of nearly a thousand comparable institutions. It is a number that sounds good, and probably is, but do not confuse the figure with what it promises: it does not measure class size or actual individual attention. Ask directly how many students are in the first-year classes your child would take.
The institution also reports structured opportunities: study abroad, undergraduate research outside the classroom, a complete program that can be taken only at night or on weekends, and preparation and certification pathways for people who want to become teachers.
Admission: what the university requires and how accessible it is
University of Saint Joseph does not have open admission. It reviews specific pieces before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks four as required: the high school transcript, high school grade-point average, letters of recommendation, and the English-language-proficiency examination for applicants. Other pieces — class rank, completed coursework plan, personal essay, and work experience — are not required, but it does consider them if you submit them.
Because letters are required, request them a month in advance. Give the teacher a sheet describing what your child has done over these years — no one remembers everything on their own.
The published application fee is $50.
Now for the numbers that almost always worry families most: in the 2023 cycle, of 1,778 first-time applicants, 1,416 received an offer of admission. That is 80 out of every 100 — seven or eight out of every ten. Compared with similar private schools, it is a common admission rate, a little above average. That does not make admission automatic, but it does give your child real reasons to apply and not leave it until the last minute. And remember: that figure is from one cycle. It is not a fixed rule of the institution. When it is your child’s turn, check the number for their applicable year.
Here is the figure that surprises families most, and must be read carefully: out of every 100 admitted students, only 12 ultimately enrolled. Put another way, out of every 8 students who receive a yes, about one decides to come. The others already had a place here and chose another path. Do not read it as a stain on the school — the federal record does not say why each person made the decision they made. And above all: what others did tells you nothing about what will be offered to your family. Wait for your own net-price letter. With that number in hand, decide whether this school stays on your list.
Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application is still just as complete. Only 10 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted SAT scores, and the available ranges come from only 17 students — a sample too small to treat as a reliable threshold. Do not turn those numbers into a target your child must reach.
One more point about student movement: of the cohort that entered in 2017 seeking bachelor’s degrees, 26 out of every 100 transferred to another school without finishing here — a substantial proportion, in the middle of the range compared with similar schools. Separately, in the fall of 2023, 62 undergraduate students arrived from another institution. It is worth remembering something important when reading any graduation rate later: someone who transfers does not count as a graduate of this school, even if they finish their degree elsewhere.
The price: what it costs and what is actually paid
At University of Saint Joseph, among 23 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 $21,080. Among 23 students in the same population with family EFC income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $27,448; among 75 students with family EFC income above $110,000, it was $30,212. For dependent students, the band adds their parents’ income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lower-income band (23 students) and that for the higher-income band (75 students) is $9,132. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $27,558.
Even after scholarships were deducted, the average net price for lower-income families was $21,080 in the 2022-23 academic year. If that number does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not tell you how different individual cases were within that band; this data cannot establish that there were families 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; public institutions use the in-state or district rate. The overall average with grants, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
Aid that does arrive, and debt that does too
Almost everyone here receives something: 96 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some grant or aid that does not have to be repaid. The average among those who received it was $27,310 per year — a large figure, but it is not a price and it is not your offer. That average includes people who received much more and people who received much less. Out of every 100 students, 37 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for lower-income families.
And here is a hard truth worth saying without embellishment: 76 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 school year. It is a majority, and compared with similar private schools, University of Saint Joseph is among those with the most students who have loans — nearly nine out of every ten similar schools report an equal or lower proportion. Financing with debt is common here.
Among those who borrow, the average was $6,826 that year. If your child borrowed something similar in each of the four years, the total would be around $27,304 — not counting interest and not including loans that parents sometimes end up signing separately. Do that full calculation before the first signature, not at the end. The fact that borrowing is common here does not decide whether your child will need it: that comes from their actual aid letter and the gap between net price and what your family can contribute.
Campus life, sports, and support
University of Saint Joseph does have institution-owned housing and meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. Not all full-time students are required to live there. The reported maximum housing capacity is 398 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed: request in writing the year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed a space or placed on a waiting list.
The school reported no ROTC opportunity — neither the general box nor any branch — unlike 926 of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide that did indicate one. That does not prove that no related path exists: if that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
It does compete in intercollegiate sports and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. Membership belongs to the school, not your child — write directly to the coach for the sport that interests them and ask whether there is room on the team and whether that sport offers a scholarship.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice only 1 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes that way — the other 99 take at least one in-person class. The library operates with paid staff, has physical and digital collections, and participates in interlibrary lending. Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment assistance, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, and a dedicated point of contact for military families.
What happened with earlier cohorts
Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 86 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled here or had already graduated one year later. Compared with similar schools, that is a high figure. But that number does not separate those who had already finished from those who were simply still enrolled, nor does it say what happened to the remaining 14.
Of the cohort that began in 2017, 70 out of every 100 graduated within six years. With the shorter four-year timeframe, the figure falls to 57 out of every 100 — thirteen points lower, which probably represents students who did finish but simply took longer. This graduation rate is above the median among similar private schools.
A high number is not a promise for your particular child. It is what happened to the cohort that entered years ago. What is in your hands today is making sure they begin with their credits in order, know from the first semester who their assigned adviser is, and understand the enrollment dates for the key courses in their program.
Looking farther out, to eight years: of a cohort of 369 students who entered between 2015 and 2016, 65 out of every 100 had a degree or certificate from this school by August of 2023. Within that same group, students who received a Pell Grant graduated in 56 out of every 100 cases — 17 points below those who did not receive Pell. It is a real gap, and worth asking the school about directly: what specific support exists for Pell students, whether an assigned adviser is available, whether emergency aid is available, and whether institutional scholarships renew year after year. Ask for the answer in writing.
How all of this fits into your decision
You now know an important piece: what kind of school University of Saint Joseph is, how accessible admission is, what it costs in practice, and how likely a student like your child is to stay and finish. That is the ground, and now it is firm.
But this piece does not decide on its own. What remains is what your child wants to study and what they have already built to get here. What remains is what your family can truly pay after seeing the aid letter with their name on it. When you bring those three pieces together, you will have not only data, but a plan.
Source note: the information in this article comes from data reported by University of Saint Joseph to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, primarily for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent University of Saint Joseph or the U.S. government; this piece organizes public information to help you understand it.