Colgate University

Image: Colgate University, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Colgate University is a highly-ranked, small liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. Colgate touts its academic rigor, beautiful campus, exceptional faculty, loyal alumni, and long history (founded 1819).

Affordability: Colgate promises to meet 100% of demonstrated need, without loans for household incomes up to $175,000. Theoretically, then, Colgate is affordable to all admitted students. However, since they don't give merit aid, students from higher-income families will pay full price, which is high. According to NCES data, 13% of freshman borrowed an average of $12,538 in 2020-21.

Rankings, Recognition:

#18 liberal arts colleges, U.S. News
#25 colleges and universities, CollegeSimply
#15 best liberal arts colleges, Niche

Popular Majors (NCES):

Econometrics
Political Science
Experimental Psychology
Computer Science
International Affairs
Neuroscience
History
Molecular Biology
English
Environmental Studies

Admissions, enrollment, graduation rates (NCES):

3,164 undergraduates; 12 graduate students
17% acceptance rate
29% enrolled
90% graduation rate