Colgate University reported 3,169 students in its Colgate at a Glance quick facts. The university’s published figures also describe a 17% admit rate for the Class of 2029, a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, and a 98.8% positive outcome rate for the Class of 2025 six to nine months after graduation. These figures cover different reporting periods, so the dates and source labels matter when comparing them.
Contents
- Enrollment and student profile
- Admissions and the Class of 2029
- Academic environment and faculty
- Tuition, costs, and financial aid
- Endowment, research, and institutional support
- Retention, graduation, and career outcomes
Enrollment and student profile
Colgate at a Glance reports 3,169 students. The same source describes the student body as 44% male and 56% female. It also reports that 27% of students are domestic students of color, 13% are first-generation college students, and 8% are international students.
The 2024-25 Common Data Set gives a more specific enrollment snapshot. It reports 3,238 full-time undergraduates and 12 less-than-full-time undergraduates. The CDS also lists 825 first-time, full-time first-year students. Because these counts come from a different publication and reporting period than the quick-facts total, they should be read as separate institutional snapshots rather than added together.
Geographic reach is substantial. In Fall 2024, 73% of first-time, first-year students came from out of state, according to the 2024-25 Common Data Set. The same CDS reports that 76% of undergraduates were from out of state. For the Class of 2029, Colgate at a Glance says the applicant pool included students from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., as well as 157 countries.
Admissions and the Class of 2029
Colgate at a Glance reports 17,310 applications for the Class of 2029. The university admitted 3,017 applicants, corresponding to a published 17% admit rate, and 834 students enrolled. The class profile therefore combines a large application pool with a comparatively small entering class.
The Class of 2029 academic profile includes a 3.86 average GPA. The middle 50% SAT range was 1450–1510, while the middle 50% ACT range was 33–35. These are middle-50% ranges, not minimum or maximum scores. Colgate at a Glance also reports that 79% of the class ranked in the top 10% of their high-school class and 93% ranked in the top 20%.
The entering class included students from both public and private high schools. Colgate at a Glance lists the mix as 53% public and 47% private. The same source reports that 43% of the Class of 2029 received financial aid and that Colgate met 100% of demonstrated need with aid for that class.
Several application measures add context to the overall class profile:
| Class of 2029 measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Total applications | 17,310 |
| Applicants admitted | 3,017 |
| Enrolled students | 834 |
| Early-decision applications | 1,342 |
| Early-decision students enrolled | 473 |
| Multicultural-student applications | 5,145 |
| Multicultural applicants admitted | 898 |
| Multicultural students enrolled | 210 |
| International-student applications | 7,312 |
The 210 multicultural students enrolled represented 26% of the Class of 2029, according to Colgate at a Glance. The same profile records 1,342 early-decision applications and 473 early-decision students enrolled. These categories describe overlapping parts of the admissions process, so their figures should not be summed as separate groups.
Academic environment and faculty
Colgate at a Glance lists 57 majors, 351 full-time faculty members, a 9:1 student-faculty ratio, and an average class size of 17 students. It also reports that 95% of faculty held a PhD or the highest degree in their field and that 25% of faculty were faculty of color.
The President’s Report 2026 provides a different faculty count for FY2025: 258 full-time tenure-stream faculty members. That report gives a student-faculty ratio of 8.8 students per faculty member and lists 47 endowed chairs. The quick-facts faculty total and the tenure-stream total measure different faculty groupings, so they are not interchangeable.
Research activity is also quantified in the President’s Report 2026. Faculty secured $2,005,003 in external research funding in FY2025. The report’s institutional support figures include $745 million reached through the Campaign for the Third Century in FY2024-25, including $143 million in new gifts and commitments during that year. The Colgate Fund reached $10.2 million in annual support.
Tuition, costs, and financial aid
For 2025-26, Colgate at a Glance lists tuition of $73,206. It lists a $440 student activity fee, $8,908 for a room in a traditional residence hall, $9,538 for unlimited-meal food, and $3,518 in estimated personal and books expenses. The same quick-facts page reports total billed costs of $92,092.
The 2024-25 Common Data Set also lists tuition at $73,206, but it breaks out several expense categories differently. It reports $1,570 for books and supplies, $800 for transportation, and $1,148 for other expenses. These amounts are source-specific cost components and should not be combined with the quick-facts total without a matching cost-of-attendance definition.
Colgate at a Glance reports that 43% of the Class of 2029 received financial aid. The 2024-25 Common Data Set reports 740 full-time undergraduates in its aid cohort. The CDS financial-aid totals were:
- $71,949,031 in need-based scholarships and grants.
- $2,246,822 in non-need-based scholarships and grants.
- $3,202,671 in need-based self-help aid.
- $3,537,366 in non-need-based self-help aid.
- $5,708,782 in parent loans.
- $1,046,123 in tuition waivers.
- $17,062,470 in athletic awards.
These categories describe aid reported for 2024-25 in the Common Data Set. They include grants, self-help aid, loans, waivers, and athletic awards, which have different meanings for students evaluating the cost of attendance.
Endowment, research, and institutional support
The Investment Office reported an endowment of $1.341 billion as of June 30, 2025. It also reported that approximately 5% of the endowment supports the operating budget each year. The date is important: the endowment figure is a point-in-time value, while the operating-budget figure describes an approximate annual support level.
The President’s Report 2026 lists $2.9 million in Colgate Athletics Fund and Division I team support during FY2024-25. It also records the 47 endowed chairs and the $2,005,003 in external research funding secured by faculty in FY2025. Together, these figures describe several distinct channels of institutional activity: long-term invested assets, annual fundraising, athletics support, and externally funded research.
The report’s fundraising measures are also time-specific. The Campaign for the Third Century reached $745 million in FY2024-25, with $143 million in new gifts and commitments added during that fiscal year. The Colgate Fund reached $10.2 million in annual support. These are fundraising and support measures, not additional amounts to be added automatically to the endowment balance.
Retention, graduation, and career outcomes
The President’s Report 2026 says Colgate’s first-year retention rates were above 92% across cohorts. For the Class of 2025, the report lists an 86% four-year graduation rate and an 88.8% six-year graduation rate. The two graduation measures use different time horizons and should be interpreted accordingly.
The Career and Continuing Education Outcomes report gives a post-graduation snapshot for the Class of 2025 six to nine months after graduation. It reports a 98.8% positive outcome rate. Within the reported outcomes, 74.1% were employed, 23.1% entered graduate studies, 1.1% received fellowships, 0.3% entered military service, and 1.2% were in transition or seeking outcomes.
The same source reports a total knowledge rate of 88.0%. Its outcomes dataset covered 839 graduates and included 740 respondents. The response count and the covered-graduate count help define the scope of the reported percentages; the outcome figures should not be treated as a complete census of every graduate’s status.
Colgate’s outcomes figures therefore answer a specific question: what was known about the Class of 2025 six to nine months after graduation? They do not measure lifetime employment, long-term earnings, or the eventual career paths of the class. Read alongside the retention and graduation figures from the President’s Report 2026, they provide a time-bounded view of persistence through college and the early period after graduation.