College · Private nonprofit · Potsdam, NY · Town
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY
Admit rate77%
6-yr median pay$77k
Net price / yr$30k
Undergrad size2,196
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $30k/yr for a shot at a $77k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 77% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1304 · ACT 29.
If you get in
2,196 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $79k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $30k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$316k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$121k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$195k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $59.4k
- Room & board
- $18.3k
- Books & supplies
- $1,560
How students pay for it.
Pell grants22%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans62%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
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?
Graduation · 6 yr75%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$77k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$90k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out18%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 2,196
- Location
- Potsdam, NY
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity (R2)
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White74%
- Hispanic13%
- International4%
- Two or more races4%
- Black3%
- Asian2%
First-gen students15%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$90k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 36
What you can study.