College · Private nonprofit · Paul Smiths, NY · Rural
Paul Smiths College of Arts and Science
Paul Smiths, NY
Admit rate77%
6-yr median pay$38k
Net price / yr$27k
Undergrad size579
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $27k/yr for a shot at a $38k 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.
If you get in
579 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $52k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $27k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$206k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$107k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$99k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $33.0k
- Room & board
- $14.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants36%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans72%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
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 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$38k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$46k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 579
- Location
- Paul Smiths, NY
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- Paul Smith's College
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White84%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown4%
- Black4%
- American Indian / Alaska Native2%
- Asian1%
- International1%
First-gen students30%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$61k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 20
What you can study.
- Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy$55k · 5-yr
- Forestry$54k · 5-yr
- Baking and Pastry Arts/Baker/Pastry Chef$42k · 5-yr
- Natural Resources and Conservation, Otherearnings not reported
- Speech Communication and Rhetoricearnings not reported
- Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studiesearnings not reported
- Biology/Biological Sciencesearnings not reported
- Ecologyearnings not reported
- Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary (CTP) Programearnings not reported
- Sustainability Studiesearnings not reported
- Parks, Recreation, and Leisure Studiesearnings not reported
- Psychologyearnings not reported
- Homeland Securityearnings not reported
- Business Administration and Managementearnings not reported
- Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studiesearnings not reported
- Hospitality Administration/Managementearnings not reported
- Natural Resources/Conservationearnings not reported
- Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services, Otherearnings not reported
- Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Managementearnings not reported
- Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Managementearnings not reported