University at Buffalo

Admission to the University at Buffalo is relatively accessible, with acceptance rates running high even as its standing on national lists has improved. In the 2027 U.S. News ranking, Buffalo placed at number 85, improving from 97 in 2018. For 2025, the university posted an undergraduate admit rate of 74.2%, which is higher than 63% of peer public universities. This means that a large majority of applicants receive an offer of admission. However, the university struggles to enroll the students it accepts. Buffalo recorded an enrollment yield rate of just 14.1% in 2025, which is higher than 23% of peer institutions. Because fewer than one in seven admitted applicants decide to matriculate, the school must admit a large volume of applicants to meet enrollment targets. For prospective students, this dynamic creates favorable odds for gaining admission, though the low yield reflects that many accepted applicants ultimately choose other educational options.

Admitted students at the University at Buffalo typically present solid secondary school records alongside moderate standardized test marks. For the class entering in 2025, the university recorded a median SAT score of 1290, which is higher than 44% of peer public universities. Enrolled freshmen predominantly possess strong academic records, as most incoming students hold high school grade point averages well above average. In applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway, which are not official university data, admitted international students recorded a median unweighted high school grade point average of 3.7 and a median SAT score of 1230. For prospective applicants, these records indicate that securing admission generally requires consistent high school grades and standardized testing that aligns closely with national midpoints.

Undergraduate degree completions at the University at Buffalo are fairly spread out across multiple disciplines, with the top three bachelor's majors representing 31% of all undergraduate degrees awarded in 2025. Business Administration and Management led with 658 bachelor's graduates, followed by General Psychology and Computer Science. Rather than being confined to the largest undergraduate fields, several of Buffalo's premier strengths appear in specialized professional programs. In the 2026 U.S. News rankings, the medical school placed 3rd in Primary Care and 3rd in Research. High earnings also follow technical and healthcare majors: according to 2023 earnings data, graduates in Registered Nursing achieved the highest early career median pay among bachelor's fields at $89,513, followed by Computer Engineering at $81,334. These figures highlight strong career viability in clinical and technical pathways.

The University at Buffalo enrolls a sizable student body of 31,903 students as of 2025, featuring substantial representation from both international and Asian students. In the undergraduate division, international students account for 11.7% of all undergraduates, a proportion that is higher than all peer schools in its comparison group of public universities. Domestic diversity is also prominent across the undergraduate classes; for example, Asian students make up 18.9% of the incoming freshman cohort, representing the second largest racial group on campus. At the post-baccalaureate level, global representation becomes even more pronounced. International students constitute 34.1% of the total graduate student population, heavily concentrating in graduate technical, computational, and engineering departments. This enrollment structure creates an undergraduate environment with leading international representation among public peers, supported by a significant Asian domestic student presence and a strongly international graduate school.

Undergraduates and graduate students at the University at Buffalo occupy distinctly separate stages of adulthood. In 2025, the undergraduate population was concentrated among traditional college ages, with students aged 18 to 19 and 20 to 21 each accounting for 38.8% of all undergraduates. Undergraduates aged 22 to 24 made up an additional 14.1%, meaning daytime undergraduate activities revolve around emerging young adults. In contrast, the graduate division draws from a broader age span: students aged 22 to 24 represented 38.8% of graduate enrollment, while those aged 25 to 29 formed the second largest group at 31.6%. This distinct division separates a youth-dominated undergraduate campus from graduate classrooms filled with students in their mid-twenties and older.

International student enrollment at the University at Buffalo has shifted dramatically over the past decade, moving away from undergraduate programs and expanding rapidly at the graduate level. The undergraduate international share decreased to 11.7% in 2025, yet this proportion remains higher than all 30 peer public universities. In contrast, the graduate international share grew to 34.1% in 2025. Among degrees conferred that year, foreign scholars earned 14.2% of bachelor's degrees and 49.3% of master's degrees. International master's graduates are concentrated in quantitative and technological programs, earning 95.4% of degrees in General Computer and Information Sciences and 96.4% in Industrial Engineering. Conversely, undergraduate international graduates appear across broader fields, including Speech Communication and Rhetoric and General Psychology.

Students looking at the University at Buffalo will find a variety of alternative higher education options within the surrounding region. Located just 8.5 kilometers away in Buffalo, D'Youville University is a National University ranked 250 in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. About an hour east in Rochester, families can consider two distinct institutions: Rochester Institute of Technology, a National University ranked 95 situated 56.6 kilometers away, and the University of Rochester, a National University ranked 49 located 59.1 kilometers from Buffalo. For applicants interested in a larger private university setting slightly farther afield, Syracuse University ranks 72 among National Universities at a distance of 134.2 kilometers. These nearby schools offer families alternatives ranging from regional urban universities to mid-sized research campuses.

Campus safety reports for the University at Buffalo show that overall incident rates remain low and are largely characterized by policy enforcement rather than severe physical offenses. The university recorded a crime rate per 1,000 students of 2.7 in 2025, reflecting a calm campus environment. Across the period from 2023 to 2025, disciplinary actions for alcohol violations represented the vast majority of all reported incidents, totaling 525 alcohol referrals. Serious property crimes and interpersonal offenses occurred at considerably lower levels during that same span; for instance, the campus logged 51 thefts over that timeframe, alongside minor numbers of vehicle-related and dating infractions. For prospective students and families, these records demonstrate that safety oversight on campus is largely centered on managing student conduct and alcohol compliance rather than confronting elevated threats of violent crime.