Public · COLLEGE PAYOFF

SUNY at Purchase College

Purchase, NY · 21 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$289,222 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

Modeled economic break-even
−113%Modeled 10-year ROI
$41,643Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$289,222at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$255,6520
2
4
6
8
−$289,22210
Years after graduationBreak-even: years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$8,953
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$19,203
Sticker price
Average net price$18,913
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$29,043
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
Suburban
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$18,913Average net price / year
$29,043Cost of attendance
$21,067Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$223/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$41,643Median earnings · year 5 after completion
62.8%Completion rate
74.1%Admission rate
3,197Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$11,835
$30–48k$15,230
$48–75k$19,658
$75–110k$20,886
$110k+$25,428
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$41,643
Year 6$31,229
Year 10$45,092
Full-time retention
80.3%
Part-time retention
40.0%
Completion within 200% of normal time
67.5%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

41thEarnings percentile
56thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$46,596Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$24,000Median federal debt across categories that report debt
25%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$21,082Year 1
$45,570Year 4
$41,643Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Mathematics and Statistics, Other · Bachelor's Degree$72,2372Economics · Bachelor's Degree$63,2073Biology, General · Bachelor's Degree$55,7184Visual and Performing Arts, Other · Bachelor's Degree$53,1005Sociology · Bachelor's Degree$53,0426Journalism · Bachelor's Degree$52,8597Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management · Bachelor's Degree$51,9548Literature · Bachelor's Degree$49,153

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1Visual and Performing Arts, OtherBachelor's Degree · $53,100 reported+11%vs same-degree national median$24,363federal debt2Arts, Entertainment, and Media ManagementBachelor's Degree · $51,954 reported+8%vs same-degree national median$22,418federal debt3LiteratureBachelor's Degree · $49,153 reported+6%vs same-degree national median$25,000federal debt4SociologyBachelor's Degree · $53,042 reported+1%vs same-degree national median$19,949federal debt5Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's Degree · $39,974 reported+1%vs same-degree national median$26,000federal debt6Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's Degree · $43,265 reported-1%vs same-degree national median$26,949federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in NY

Currently operating public institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

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Annual net price
$18,371
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,527
Modeled 10-year ROI
-102%
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Annual net price
$18,800
Observed earnings · year 5
$45,224
Modeled 10-year ROI
-99%
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Annual net price
$19,002
Observed earnings · year 5
$37,826
Modeled 10-year ROI
-128%
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Elmira, NY

Schuyler Steuben Chemung Tioga Allegany BOCES

Annual net price
$20,757
Observed earnings · year 5
$38,859
Modeled 10-year ROI
-123%
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ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Mathematics and Statistics, OtherBachelor's Degree$72,237Not availableNot reported
EconomicsBachelor's Degree$63,207$23,250Not reported
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$55,718$24,237Not reported
Visual and Performing Arts, OtherBachelor's Degree$53,100$24,363Not reported
SociologyBachelor's Degree$53,042$19,949Not reported
JournalismBachelor's Degree$52,859$23,947Not reported
Arts, Entertainment, and Media ManagementBachelor's Degree$51,954$22,418Not reported
LiteratureBachelor's Degree$49,153$25,000Not reported
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and HumanitiesBachelor's Degree$47,922$25,000Not reported
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree$47,022$24,250Not reported
Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's Degree$46,596$24,000Not reported
HistoryBachelor's Degree$45,661$22,076Not reported
Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's Degree$43,265$26,9490
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing StudiesBachelor's Degree$42,372$23,250Not reported
MusicBachelor's Degree$41,926$22,1790
AnthropologyBachelor's Degree$40,048$15,375Not reported
Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's Degree$39,974$26,0000
Visual and Performing Arts, GeneralBachelor's Degree$39,791$27,000Not reported
Social Sciences, OtherBachelor's Degree$36,895Not availableNot reported
DanceBachelor's Degree$30,406$27,0000
Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's DegreeNot available$23,850Not reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.