I am not here to tell you whether Yeshiva is the right school for your child. No article can know that. I am here to show you, precisely and without embellishment, what kind of institution it is, how it admits students, how much it costs, and what happened to those who have already attended. With that, you can begin to form your own judgment.
What Kind of University It Is, in Simple Terms
Yeshiva University is a private, nonprofit institution offering four-year or higher programs. The Department of Education classifies it among doctoral and professional universities, and within its undergraduate profile places it in the more selective admissions group. It reports the doctoral degree as the highest level it offers, although that information is institutional: it does not tell you whether the exact program your child is interested in extends to that level. That must be confirmed program by program.
It is in New York City, New York County, within the New York-Newark-Jersey City metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. If your child were considering living at home and commuting to campus, the only real way to know how long it would take is to drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child would have class. The map almost never tells the whole truth.
The Carnegie classification, based on 2019-20 data, describes it as a four-year, medium-sized, highly residential school: at that time, at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 8 out of every 10 studied full time. Being “highly residential” does not tell you whether your child should live there or how much room and board cost—that is charged separately, and you will see it later.
One thing is worth clarifying at the outset: Yeshiva University is not listed as a historically Black college or university (HBCU), tribal college, or land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; this one does not. That says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child would feel there. That should be asked directly: which student groups and cultural centers exist today and, better yet, what someone already studying there has to say.
The Community’s Actual Size and Who Makes It Up
In the most recent official count, Yeshiva University had 6,826 enrolled students. It is neither a small school nor a giant one: it falls in the 5,000 to 9,999 range, and compared with the other 941 selective private four-year schools, it is on the larger side—between 1 and 3 out of every 10 schools in that group have more students.
But that large number hides something important: of those 6,826, only 3,091 are undergraduates. The other 3,735 are graduate students. Graduate enrollment outweighs undergraduate enrollment here. If your child is about to begin an undergraduate degree, the number that matters is not 6,826. It is 3,091.
As for who makes up that undergraduate community: 2 out of every 100 students were reported as Hispanic or Latino, according to the fall 2023 report. Compared with 941 similar selective private schools, it is among those reporting the lowest share: nine out of ten schools in that group report a higher percentage. That said, this needs to be stated carefully: 20 out of every 100 students or more were recorded as “race or ethnicity unknown,” so the actual number of Latino students could be somewhat different—the 2% figure is a floor, not a final tally.
Having few Latino students does not make this a bad school, just as having many would not make it a good one. The data only count who is enrolled. If your child would be one of the few, the natural question is what student groups, support, and community would be available—and that is something to ask during a visit, not guess from a table.
The undergraduate population is almost evenly divided between men and women: 45 out of every 100 are women. And here is something revealing about who arrives there: fewer than half of first-time students—34 out of every 100—had a permanent residence reported in the same state as the school. Most come from outside New York or from another country. If your family lives far away, your child would not be the exception on that campus.
How Students Study and Where Degrees Are Concentrated
The academic year is organized into semesters: two terms of about 15 weeks each. The university accepts credits from AP exams, but it did not indicate that it awards credit for life experience. Here is a useful warning: accepting AP does not tell you how many points are required, how many credits are awarded, or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific program. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not count on the savings until you have it in hand.
In a recent year, the university awarded 564 bachelor’s degrees across 16 fields of study. By far the largest was business and management: 196 of the 564 degrees, or 35 out of every 100. This counts degrees awarded, not quality or employment outcomes. If your child’s program is not business, ask directly how many students graduated from that specific program, how long it took them, and how the curriculum is structured.
The student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 7 to 1—among the lowest reported and low compared with similar schools. But be careful: a low ratio does not guarantee small classes. It is an institutional average, not a count of seats in a classroom. If that matters to you, ask directly how many students are in first-year classes.
The institution also reports structured academic pathways: study abroad, a complete program that can be taken entirely during evenings or weekends, and pathways to teacher certification, including state approval of the applicable program. It is worth asking for details if that connects with what your child wants to study.
How It Admits Students and What It Requires From Your Child
Yeshiva University does not have open admission. It reviews several components before saying yes. Of the nine considerations evaluated in this report—not counting standardized tests or legacy status—it identifies five as required: the high school transcript, high school GPA, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English proficiency exam for those who need one.
By contrast, it reported that it does not consider your child’s class rank, whether your child completed the university’s recommended high school curriculum, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, or whether a relative attended the university.
Put simply: gathering documents is not enough here. The essay is required, so your child has to write—and write well. Have your child start during the summer, not the week of the deadline. The first draft is never the one that gets submitted. The undergraduate application fee is $65.
How Selective It Is in Practice
In the most recent cycle, 1,713 students applied for first-year admission. Of those, 1,092 received an offer of admission: 64 out of every 100. Compared with 942 similar selective private schools, that percentage falls near the middle, slightly below the group’s midpoint.
| Out of every 100 applicants | Outcome |
|---|---|
| 64 | Received an offer of admission |
| 36 | Did not receive an offer |
Admission is neither guaranteed nor a lottery. The application is reviewed carefully. And being admitted is not the same as enrolling: that is a different count, which comes next.
Of the first-year students admitted, 59 out of every 100 ultimately enrolled at Yeshiva. That is a high share: compared with similar schools, it is among the highest in the group. This does not measure quality or prestige; it only counts how many students who received a yes from the university ultimately attended classes there. When your child’s letters arrive, this number does not decide anything. Compare net price, the academic program, and distance before the deposit deadline.
As for standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Of those who enrolled, 22 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and among them, the middle half scored between 660 and 740 in reading and writing and between 660 and 760 in mathematics. That range describes students who had already enrolled and chose to submit their scores—not all applicants—and it does not indicate whether the score actually influenced the admission decision.
And regarding transfers: only 12 out of every 100 students in a recent first-time entering cohort transferred to another school before completing their degrees here—a low share compared with similar schools. At the same time, 52 undergraduate transfer students arrived from other institutions in a recent fall. If your child were considering transferring into or out of this university, that number says nothing about whether the credits would be accepted. Request that information in writing, with the exact list of courses in hand.
Cost: What the Sticker Price Says and What Your Family May Ultimately Pay
At Yeshiva 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 $27,089. Among 29 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $29,934; among 85 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $69,117. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $42,028 between the average for the lowest-income band (40 students) and the average for the highest-income band (85 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 $38,118.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this measure with the same time coverage, Yeshiva falls in the most expensive quarter for the lowest-income families. That does not mean you should rule it out. It means you should request the financial aid letter before deciding.
Because the price varies 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 financial aid letter sent to you is what matters.
The Aid That Reaches Students—and the Aid That Rarely Does
There is a strong signal here: 9 out of every 10 degree-seeking students at Yeshiva receive some form of grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among recipients, the annual average is $29,623—although that average includes some who received much more and others who received much less.
But note an important distinction: the Pell Grant, which is federal aid specifically for low-income families, reached only 14 out of every 100 students. That means at least 76 out of every 100 aid recipients received aid from another source—the university itself, the state, or somewhere else. Receiving “some aid” is common here. Receiving Pell specifically is less common.
None of this is your personal offer. When the admission letter arrives, what matters is not the size of the advertised discount, but how much your family will have to pay out of pocket. That is what you compare across schools.
About Loans: A Minority Borrow Here
Here is a figure worth emphasizing because it contradicts the intuition that “an expensive university means high debt”: only 18 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the most recently reported school year. Most did not use one. Compared with 942 similar selective private schools, federal loans are used less here than at almost all of them.
Among those who did borrow, the average was $6,151 that year. This does not mean that amount covered the year for those students—the data only say how much they borrowed, not how they covered the rest. It also excludes loans that parents sometimes take out, known as PLUS loans, as well as credit card or bank debt and debt accumulated over several years. That figure—the one that truly matters at graduation—is not in this report.
Regarding payment options, the institution offers an installment tuition plan. It is worth asking the financial aid office how that plan works specifically.
Campus Life: Housing, Sports, and Support
Yeshiva University has institution-controlled housing, but it does not require all first-year students to live there—that rules out a universal requirement, not the possibility that an individual program has one. It also offers meal plans, although the number of meals per week varies according to the plan your child chooses. The reported maximum housing capacity is 1,645 students. The existence of a room does not guarantee that a bed is available: request the price, application deadline, and whether housing is guaranteed or your child would be placed on a waiting list, all in writing.
Regarding ROTC, the university did not report any such opportunity in its most recent submission. Among the four-year schools in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 did report one; this school was not among them. That does not prove that no nearby pathway exists—only that none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask the admissions office directly before assuming it is unavailable.
In sports, Yeshiva does compete at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA, reporting membership in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not indicate the division in which each team competes or whether athletic scholarships are offered. If your child plays one of those sports, the next step is to write directly to the coach and request that information in writing.
The university offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although only 4 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes that way—the rest take at least one course in person. It also reports offering at least one complete program that can be completed through distance education, although the data do not confirm whether that specific program is undergraduate. Confirm that directly.
The library has employed staff, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary lending. Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment support for current students and graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, and a published webpage about services for students with disabilities. None of these data measure how good or accessible the service is in practice—that should be asked and verified in person.
What Happened to Students Who Already Enrolled: Retention and Graduation
Here we reach one of the strongest signals in this entire article. Among first-time, full-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in a recent fall, 93 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. Compared with 930 similar selective private schools, Yeshiva is among those that retain the largest share of their entering cohort.
As for graduation itself: of a cohort that entered in 2017, 85 out of every 100 graduated within six years—451 of 533 students. By the four-year mark, the figure had already reached 79 out of every 100, just 6 points below the final result. Compared with 920 similar schools, Yeshiva is among those graduating the largest shares of their students.
| Time frame | Graduates out of every 100 |
|---|---|
| 4 years | 79 |
| 6 years | 85 |
This is a strong signal, and it is worth stating plainly: most of those who enter Yeshiva and remain full time complete their degrees there, and many do so on time. But a high figure for a past cohort is not a promise for your child. What is within your child’s control, and yours, is starting the first semester with credits in order, knowing who the academic advisor is, and learning early when registration opens for courses in the program.
One additional figure looks further ahead: among a cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016—including both first-time and transfer students, attending full time and part time—82 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from Yeshiva eight years later. Among those who specifically received a Pell Grant, that figure falls to 74 out of every 100, nine points below the figure for those who did not receive one. If your family would qualify for Pell today, that does not determine what will happen to your child, but it does raise a valid question to ask the school directly: what concrete support exists for those students—an assigned advisor, emergency aid, annual renewal of the institutional grant—and ask for the answer in writing.
Putting the Pieces Together
You now know, in as much depth as the official data allow, one of the three pieces you need to make a decision about Yeshiva University: what kind of institution it is, how it admits students, how much it costs, and what has happened to those who have already attended. It is a selective, medium-to-large university with an undergraduate community that has a small share of Latino students, a sticker price among the highest in the country but a graduation rate among the strongest you will find, and notably low use of federal loans compared with similar schools.
That piece does not decide anything by itself. A real plan comes from that combination—the university, the student, and the family.
If you are just beginning to build the college list, this is a good time to ask your child how far away they imagine living while studying and how much the required essay weighs on them. If you already have the admission letter in hand, the number that matters is not the acceptance rate or prestige: it is how much you will have to pay out of pocket compared with the other letters on the table.
Source note: the information in this article comes from data reported by Yeshiva University to the United States Department of Education’s IPEDS system, covering different years and reports as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Yeshiva University or the United States government, and this article is not a substitute for direct verification with the institution’s admissions or financial aid office.