About
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York, United States. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia College. In the 19th century, it became known as the "Mother of Fraternities", because three of the earliest Greek-letter fraternities were established there. Union began enrolling women in 1970, after 175 years as an all-male institution. The college offers a liberal arts curriculum across 21 academic departments, including ABET-accredited engineering degree programs.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 40 Title IV programs, 8 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 32 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing8 · 20.0%
- No Data32 · 80.0%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Action history · 3
- Apr 2021Approved for Distance EducationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Mar 2021Renewal of AccreditationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
- Jan 2021Approved for Distance EducationMiddle States Commission on Higher Education
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 407 students received $2.4M in Pell grants, alongside $8.7M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 370 borrowers who entered repayment, 5 (1.3%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Union College
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 14
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus23
Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
- Ethnicity4
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
- West College1 fireA lit piece of paper on fire. Extinguished immediatelyDamage $100-$999
- 203 Seward Place1 fireCookingDamage $0-$99
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Union College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Union College selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectUnion College | 80% | — | 2,065 | $36,000 | Baccalaureate |
Amherst College | 94% | 9.0% | 1,914 | $18,246 | Baccalaureate |
Bates College | 90% | 13.3% | 1,760 | $30,703 | Baccalaureate |
Bowdoin College | 95% | 7.1% | 1,881 | $20,786 | Baccalaureate |
Bucknell University | 86% | 28.9% | 3,969 | $40,429 | Baccalaureate |
Carleton College | 90% | 20.4% | 2,128 | $27,320 | Baccalaureate |
Colby College | 89% | 7.1% | 2,412 | $23,939 | Baccalaureate |
Colgate University | 91% | 13.9% | 3,211 | $29,107 | Baccalaureate |
Connecticut College | 82% | 37.0% | 1,990 | $33,998 | Baccalaureate |
Davidson College | 91% | 13.4% | 1,869 | $18,127 | Baccalaureate |
Dickinson College | 80% | 42.1% | 2,314 | $32,191 | Baccalaureate |
Franklin and Marshall College | 84% | 28.2% | 1,808 | $39,061 | Baccalaureate |
Grinnell College | 88% | 14.5% | 1,788 | $15,608 | Baccalaureate |
Hamilton College | 91% | 13.6% | 2,031 | $28,314 | Baccalaureate |
Haverford College | 90% | 12.4% | 1,431 | $25,210 | Baccalaureate |
Hobart William Smith Colleges | 77% | 64.0% | 1,841 | $31,057 | Baccalaureate |
Kenyon College | 82% | 31.0% | 2,249 | $29,383 | Baccalaureate |
Lafayette College | 88% | 31.4% | 2,775 | $32,496 | Baccalaureate |
Macalester College | 87% | 28.5% | 2,138 | $29,980 | Baccalaureate |
Middlebury College | 91% | 10.7% | 2,803 | $25,934 | Baccalaureate |
Mount Holyoke College | 84% | 36.0% | 2,275 | $29,562 | Baccalaureate |
Oberlin College | 81% | 34.2% | 2,909 | $39,184 | Baccalaureate |
Occidental College | 81% | 44.2% | 1,881 | $39,329 | Baccalaureate |
Skidmore College | 83% | 21.1% | 2,704 | $34,581 | Baccalaureate |
Smith College | 89% | 21.0% | 2,857 | $26,181 | Baccalaureate |
St Lawrence University | 79% | 54.3% | 1,991 | $30,561 | Baccalaureate |
Swarthmore College | 92% | 7.5% | 1,623 | $18,686 | Baccalaureate |
Trinity College | 84% | 29.2% | 2,238 | $35,009 | Baccalaureate |
Vassar College | 91% | 18.6% | 2,462 | $38,182 | Baccalaureate |
Wellesley College | 92% | 14.0% | 2,407 | $25,008 | Baccalaureate |
Wesleyan University | 93% | 16.5% | 4,011 | $27,888 | Baccalaureate |
Williams College | 94% | 8.3% | 2,164 | $14,852 | Baccalaureate |
| Peer group median | 89% | 20.4% | 2,151 | $29,473 |
Union College Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Research collects and reports data and information about the college. The office responds to questionnaires and other requests from both the internal campus community and from external sources, and provides data to fulfill federal, state, and other compliance reporting requirements and in support of planning and assessment.
Visit IR office page- Len SchlegelDirector of Institutional Research
- Jill DaveyAssistant Director of Institutional Research
Common Data Set (1)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (3)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- Data definitionCommon Data Set (CDS)The Common Data Set (CDS) at Union College consists of standardized information shared among educational institutions and significant educational publishers to enhance the accuracy and comparability of data reporting. This page provides access to the current and past data sets, detailed policy information, enrollment data, graduation rates, and various additional research and policy resources.union.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planPlanning for Multiple Tomorrows 'PMT21'2026The Strategic Plan for Union College, titled 'Planning for Multiple Tomorrows PMT21', is led by a working group chaired by Blair Raymond. This group involves key stakeholders from various departments within the college, including administrators, faculty, and students, demonstrating a collaborative approach. The document available does not provide specific strategic pillars, priorities, or measurable targets at this stage.union.edu
Notable alumni of Union College (30)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Chester A. ArthurPolitics
- William H. SewardPolitics
- Baruch S. BlumbergMedicine
- George StibitzComputer Science
- Gordon GouldPhysics
- Armand V. FeigenbaumBusiness
- Neil AbercrombiePolitics
- Andrea BarrettLiterature
- Rich TempletonBusiness
- Victor H. FazioPolitics
- Franklin B. HoughForestry
- Francis WaylandEducation
Frequently asked questions about Union College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Union College.
What is the graduation rate at Union College?
How many students attend Union College?
What is the average net price at Union College?
What is the yield rate at Union College?
Where is Union College located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Union College?
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