Private nonprofit · College

Villa Maria College

Buffalo, New York · Small city

86.6%
Admit rate
$13,494
Avg net price
31%
Graduation rate
$38,857
Median earnings

Villa Maria College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Buffalo, New York (small city setting), enrolling 603 undergraduates. It has a Roman Catholic religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 603 undergradsSmall cityAccessible · 87% admitUSCAACold wintersSnowy

About Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is a city in the U.S. state of New York. Before the arrival of Europeans, nomadic Paleo-Indians inhabited the western New York region from the 8th millennium BCE. The Woodland period began around 1000 BC, marked by the rise of the Iroquois Confederacy and the spread of its tribes throughout the state. Buffalo is home to over 20 theater companies, with many centered in the downtown Theatre District. Shea's Performing Arts Center is the city's largest theater. Designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany and built in 1926, the theater presents Broadway musicals and concerts. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
4 miles to Buffalo, NY
To Great Lakes shore
5 miles
Nearest airport
4 miles to Buffalo Niagara (BUF) · major hub

How Villa Maria College compares

Selectivity86.6%

More selective than 32% · #110 most selective of 137 in New York

Graduation rate31%

Higher than 12% · #139 of 159 in New York

First-year retention76%

Higher than 50%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$38,857

Higher than 12% · #118 of 133 in New York

Average net price$13,494

Cheaper than 79% · #53 cheapest of 153 in New York

Median debt at graduation$21,250

Lower than 65%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment603

Larger than 25%

Percentiles compare Villa Maria College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in New York.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

603undergrads
  • Women35559%
  • Men24841%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White44%
  • Black35%
  • Hispanic5.8%
  • Asian3.0%
  • Other or multiracial12%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
603
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
65%
First-generation students
38%
Students over 25
15%
Median family income
$23,000
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$49,572
Endowment
$2,579,220

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
86.6%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$28,670
Room & board
$9,620
Total cost of attendance
$36,335
Average net price
$13,494

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)
31%
Graduated on time (4 years)
23%
First-year retention
76%
Transferred to another college
26%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$33,635
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$38,857
Median debt at graduation
$21,250
Students with federal loans
52%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
39%

About 8% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
23%
Low-income (Pell)
25%
First-generation
28%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
Free
Athletics
USCAA
Varsity athletes
59 (20 men · 39 women)

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%.

Varsity sports (2)

Basketball35
Other Sports24

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
3.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
5

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (611 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.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

2.0reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year1.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
1.0
Motor vehicle theft
0.7
Robbery
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

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.

< $30k
$13,049
$30–48k
$13,265
$48–75k
$12,274
$75–110k
$12,775
$110k+
$25,069

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.

Est. total to a degree
$53,867

$12,274/year × about 4.4 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.

98%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$12,624
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 98% — get grant money from Villa Maria College itself, averaging $12,624, 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 101 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)
$38,857
Typical debt at graduation
$21,250
Debt vs. one year's pay
55%
Out-earn a HS grad
41%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

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.

Women
$38,744
Men
$36,692

Women out-earn men by $2,052 (6%) 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
80°F
Winter low
19°F
Annual rain
40.7″
Annual snow
95.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.04.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Buffalo, NY US station (3.9 mi from campus).

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 Villa Maria College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Villa Maria College side by side →

Colleges near Villa Maria College

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.