Union College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Cortland, New York · Public · Moderately selective · CDS 2024-2025
Union College is a public university in Cortland, New York that admits about 51% of applicants, making it a moderately selective school. The average family pays about $19,951 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas and Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 1.9 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Union College is a public institution located in Cortland, New York with a moderately selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Union College admits about half to three-quarters of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 51%. Admitted students typically post an ACT composite around 25. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,951 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Union College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Union College?
Union College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Union College typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
| 25th percentile | — |
| 50th percentile | 25 |
| 75th percentile | — |
- • Test-blind: Union College does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions, even if submitted.
- • Policy detail: Not Considered
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 10% |
| Top 25% of class | 10% |
| Top 50% of class | 10% |
How much does Union College actually cost?
Published tuition is $8,815 for in-state students and $18,725 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $15,210 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $19,951 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 27% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $4,970 |
| Out-of-state tuition | $12,870 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $19,951 |
| Application fee | $4 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Union College
| Regular deadline | page 4 |
| Notification date | and |
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Rolling admissions | Yes |
Most popular majors at Union College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Union College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas and Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. Across all programs, Union College confers roughly 1,014 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness program report a median income of about $61,501 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 236 | $61,501 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 233 | $62,533 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 138 | $60,026 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | 93 | $75,120 |
| Special Education and Teaching | 86 | $70,344 |
| Psychology, General | 80 | $56,613 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 78 | $57,625 |
| Criminology | 70 | $62,640 |
Is Union College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Union College disclosed 11 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 1.9 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 4 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in New York parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Union College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Union College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Union College
What GPA do I need for Union College?
Union College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum.
What SAT or ACT score does Union College typically admit?
Union College does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does Union College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Union College after grants and scholarships is $19,951 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Union College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Union College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Union College?
Union College accepts about 51% of applicants. That makes it a moderately selective school.
Is Union College test-optional?
Union College is test-blind: it does not consider SAT or ACT scores in admission decisions, even if you submit them.
Is Union College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Union College is a public institution located in Cortland, New York.
What are the most popular majors at Union College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Union College by annual graduates are Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas and Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. The school awards about 1,014 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Union College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Union College reported 11 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 1.9 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Union College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.