SUNY Buffalo State University
Buffalo, NY
SUNY Buffalo State University is a public university in Buffalo, New York, a large city, with 5,097 undergraduates. Education and criminal justice are its signature fields: together they make up 23% of its bachelor's degrees, three and a half times their share across the colleges we cover. 33% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $52,334 ten years after starting.
SUNY Buffalo State University admitted 20,689 of 24,562 applicants for the fall 2025 entering class (84.2%).
- Acceptance rate
- 84.2%
- Fall 2025 class
- In-state tuition
- $8,533
- $19,653 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $11,346
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 923–1170
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2025 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What SUNY Buffalo State University is known for
Measured by the 1,223 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Education
15.0%
of its bachelor's degrees: about four times the 3.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Criminal justice
7.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: three and a half times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations12310.1% of degrees$57,114−16% vs $68,257 nationally
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods988.0% of degrees$51,209+8% vs $47,382 nationally
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities877.1% of degrees$46,705−12% vs $53,072 nationally
- Criminal Justice and Corrections857.0% of degrees$56,034About the $55,378 national median
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas695.6% of degrees$49,853About the $51,389 national median
- Information Science/Studies564.6% of degrees$64,628−24% vs $85,294 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Large city
Buffalo, NY
Undergraduates
5,097
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, larger programs
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
14 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at SUNY Buffalo State University
Two things SUNY Buffalo State University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
13% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 0% sent an ACT. SUNY Buffalo State University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Families paid $11,346 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
84.2%
20,689 admitted of 24,562 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
SAT, middle 50%
923–1170
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Average GPA of admitted students
3.44
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
13%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
0%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Where do you actually stand at SUNY Buffalo State University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What SUNY Buffalo State University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $8,533 ($19,653 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $24,279. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $11,346 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$8,533
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$19,653
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$24,279
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$11,346
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $24,279 full cost.
- Under $30k$7,405Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$9,393Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$14,706Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$17,155Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$19,332Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
33%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
58%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$52,334
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$21,028
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Over 5 years the admit rate rose from 61% to 76%.
What SUNY Buffalo State University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Essayconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Not considered
- Class rank
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2025
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Rolling AdmissionJuly 28, 2027
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in New York
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- St. Francis College84.3%
- University of Mount Saint Vincent84.6%
- Manhattanville University84.7%
- Wagner College83.5%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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