College · Private nonprofit · Hackettstown, NJ · Suburb
Centenary University
Hackettstown, NJ
Religious affiliation
Admit rate83%
6-yr median pay$46k
Net price / yr$21k
Undergrad size910
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $21k/yr for a shot at a $46k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 83% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 19.
If you get in
910 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $52k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $21k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$209k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$82k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$127k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $37.7k
- Room & board
- $12.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants38%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans63%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention76%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr56%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$46k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$54k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out28%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 910
- Location
- Hackettstown, NJ
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White61%
- Hispanic20%
- Black9%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown3%
- Asian2%
First-gen students38%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time6%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$49k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 46
What you can study.