Private nonprofit · College
Pillar College
Newark, New Jersey · Large city
- —
- Admit rate
- $8,470
- Avg net price
- 38%
- Graduation rate
- $45,577
- Median earnings
Pillar College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Newark, New Jersey (large city setting), enrolling 498 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It has a Other religious affiliation.
About Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. Newark was settled in 1666 by Connecticut Puritans led by Robert Treat from the New Haven Colony. It was conceived as a theocratic assembly of the faithful, though this did not last for long as new settlers came with different ideas. Gothic architecture can be found at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart by Branch Brook Park, which is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the United States. It is rumored to have as much stained glass as the Cathedral of Chartres. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 9 miles to New York, NY
- To the ocean
- 3 miles
- Nearest airport
- 3 miles to Newark Liberty (EWR) · major hub
How Pillar College compares
Higher than 20% · #30 of 47 in New Jersey
Higher than 43%
Higher than 26% · #34 of 38 in New Jersey
Cheaper than 94% · #5 cheapest of 46 in New Jersey
Lower than 65%
Lower than 42%
Larger than 22%
Percentiles compare Pillar College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in New Jersey.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate49892%
- Graduate448%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women33667%
- Men16233%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White59%
- Black11%
- Hispanic28%
- Asian0.8%
- Other or multiracial1.8%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 498
- Graduate enrollment
- 44
- Student–faculty ratio
- 14 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 70%
- First-generation students
- 59%
- Students over 25
- 53%
- Median family income
- $18,259
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $47,385
- Endowment
- $298,423
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $25,900
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
- Total cost of attendance
- $38,047
- Average net price
- $8,470
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 38%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 0%
- First-year retention
- 74%
- Transferred to another college
- 8%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $37,885
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $45,577
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,483
- Students with federal loans
- 42%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 27%
About 38% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $50
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (556 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$3,181/year × about 5.5 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 88% — get grant money from Pillar College itself, averaging $13,705, which softens the sticker price.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 110 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $45,577
- Typical debt at graduation
- $21,483
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 47%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 59%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.7 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $4,677 (11%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 87°F
- Winter low
- 25°F
- Annual rain
- 50.4″
- Annual snow
- 28.2″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Harrison, NJ US station (1.1 mi from campus).
What Pillar College graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Pillar College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Pillar College side by side →
Brescia University
Owensboro, Kentucky · Small city · 29 mi to Evansville
- Students
- 545
- Admission
- 35%
- Net price
- $9k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
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Baptist University of Florida
Graceville, Florida · Distant rural · 81 mi to Tallahassee
- Students
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- Admission
- 36%
- Net price
- $10k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $43k
Albizu University-San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico · Large city · 1 mi to San Juan
- Students
- 728
- Admission
- 100%
- Net price
- $10k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $42k
Central Christian College of Kansas
McPherson, Kansas · Remote town · 50 mi to Wichita
- Students
- 380
- Admission
- 53%
- Net price
- $11k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $44k
Drury University-College of Continuing Professional Studies
Springfield, Missouri · Midsize city · 1 mi to Springfield
- Students
- 632
- Admission
- —
- Net price
- $11k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $41k
Central Baptist College
Conway, Arkansas · Small city · 25 mi to Little Rock
- Students
- 484
- Admission
- 63%
- Net price
- $12k
- SAT
- 1046
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $47k
Colleges near Pillar College
Rutgers University-Newark
Newark, NJ · Public · Bachelor's · 7,709 students
Essex County College
Newark, NJ · Public · Associate · 5,855 students
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Newark, NJ · Public · Bachelor's · 9,019 students
New Community Career & Technical Institute
Newark, NJ · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 11 students
National Career Institute
East Orange, NJ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 249 students
Best Care College
East Orange, NJ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 44 students
Seton Hall University
South Orange, NJ · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 6,036 students
Eastern School of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine
Bloomfield, NJ · Private for-profit · Certificate · 2 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.













