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Rider University
Lawrenceville, NJprivate nonprofitwww.rider.edu/
Acceptance
79%
SAT 25–75
1100–1320
Avg net price
$24,792
Earnings (10 yr)
$62,208
Graduation rate
61%
Admit rate has ranged 71%–84% over the last 5 years — notably volatile. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
Rider University is a private institution in Lawrenceville, NJ, where business majors share classrooms with aspiring Broadway performers and poets. With a 79% acceptance rate and a focus on hands-on learning, Rider attracts students who want a mid-sized campus with strong internship ties to nearby Philadelphia and New York. Financial challenges and aging dorms are noted drawbacks, but the school counters with near-universal financial aid and a 12:1 student-faculty ratio.
Admission requirements
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Required
- High school transcript
- Grade point average
- Letters of recommendation
- College-prep program
Considered (not required)
- Test scores (SAT/ACT)
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
- Undergrad enrollment
- 3,106
- In-state tuition
- $41,120
- Out-of-state tuition
- $41,120
- Notable Quirk
- Finance majors take poetry classes
- Acceptance Rate
- 79%
- Graduation Rate
- 63%
- On-Campus Housing
- 53% of students
- Most Popular Major
- Business (34%)
- Student-Faculty Ratio
- 12:1
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
- Median earnings (10 yr)
- $62,208
- Value (earnings ÷ net price)
- 2.5×
- Median debt at graduation
- $26,130
- Graduation rate
- 61%
- First-year retention
- 78%
- Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
- 71%
- Pell (lower-income) share
- 45%
- First-generation share
- 29%
- Endowment / student
- $21,515
Financial health
0.2 / 3.0Below the federal standard — financial stress
U.S. Dept. of Education Financial Responsibility Composite Score (FY2022-23). Scale −1.0 to 3.0; ≥1.5 meets the standard. Reported for private nonprofit & for-profit institutions only — public universities are state-backed and not scored, so this is a stability signal, not a ranking.
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
- Accounting and Related Services$52,107
- Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations$52,107
- Business Administration, Management and Operations$51,899
- Mathematics$49,729
- International Business$49,644
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
Campus & location
Campus safety
- On-campus violent crimes (2024)
- 2
- Per 1,000 students
- 0.64
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
- Pleasant days / yr
- 88
- Summer high
- 85°F
- Winter low
- 29°F
- Annual rain
- 51.2"
- Annual snow
- 14.7"
- Natural-hazard risk
- Relatively High
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility
Research output
- Institutional h-index
- 140
- Scholarly works
- 3,817
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Economic mobility
- Mobility rate
- 2.2%
- Bottom → top quintile
- 37%
- From bottom quintile
- 6%
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Quick answers
- What is the acceptance rate at Rider University?
- Rider University's acceptance rate is approximately 79% (Lawrenceville, NJ), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
- What SAT score do you need for Rider University?
- Admitted students at Rider University typically score 1100–1320 on the SAT (the middle-50% range). Scores outside this band are still admitted, especially with strong applications.
- How much does Rider University cost?
- At Rider University, the average net price (after aid) is about $24,792 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
- How many undergraduates attend Rider University?
- Rider University enrolls approximately 3,106 undergraduate students.
- Where is Rider University located?
- Rider University is located in Lawrenceville, NJ.
Admissions
Rider University is decidedly not selective, with a 79% acceptance rate (7,920 admits from 10,071 applications in 2024). Half of admitted students have SAT scores between 1110–1310 or ACT composites of 22–28, though the school has a rolling admissions policy with no hard deadline. Early applicants enjoy a slightly higher Acceptance rateThe share of applicants a college admits in a given year. A 10% acceptance rate means it admits about 1 in 10 applicants. of 82.8%. Notably, 100% of incoming students receive financial aid, making it accessible despite a sticker price of $43,240 for tuition and $17,700 for room/board.
Academics
Rider offers 100+ majors across its colleges, with (34% of degrees awarded), followed by visual/performing arts (14%), education (9%), and psychology (8%). The university prides itself on interdisciplinary crossover—finance majors take poetry classes, biology students pursue medical school, and musical theater grads land Broadway roles. A supports this hands-on approach, though some students cite impacting facilities. Standout programs include Business Administration and Management, bolstered by proximity to NYC and Philadelphia internships.
Compare Rider University
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