College Unbound
College Unbound is a private nonprofit college in Providence, RI, with about 225 students on campus.
The short version on College Unbound
Many students are adults coming back to school
89% of undergraduates are 25 or older. Graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students, so they leave many of these students out. The students ↓
Little price break for lower-income families
Families earning under $30,000 pay about $20,682 a year after grants, only $1,212 less than the $21,894 paid by families over $110,000. What it costs ↓
Every degree College Unbound awards is in interdisciplinary studies
College Unbound awards degrees in a single field, interdisciplinary studies. Majors ↓
Most students come from lower-income families
69% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal grant for lower-income students. The students ↓
College Unbound is very small
About 225 students attend on campus. With classes this small, a handful of students can move the graduation rate from one year to the next. The students ↓
This summary is written from the data on this page. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard; graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students; at a college this small, rates can swing from year to year.
The students
491 degree-seeking undergraduates.
By race and ethnicity
Women and men
How hard is it to get into College Unbound?
anyone with a high school diploma can enroll
Test scores of admitted students
No SAT or ACT ranges reported. College Unbound is likely test-optional.
The sticker price, and what families really pay
Sticker price: $27,138 a year
Before any grants
After grants, the average family on aid pays $21,108.
Your family’s price
Average net price after grants, by family income
About $87,964 over 4 years · 19% off the sticker price
Do students finish, and does it pay off?
Paying back loans
Federal student loans, this college
Almost none defaulted within three years (payments on federal loans were paused from 2020 to 2023, so recent default rates are near zero everywhere).
What students study, and what it pays
Share of degrees by field
Bachelor’s programs with the most graduates
And their graduates’ median earnings four years later (one year where that’s all that’s reported).
Living in Providence
14% of Providence’s 195,310 residents are enrolled in college. What the town is like, from TownRatings’ Providence pages.
Other colleges within 30 miles
Straight-line distances from College Unbound; colleges with 100 or more students on campus.
Ask around
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (institution and field-of-study files) and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023); town figures from the Census American Community Survey and NOAA climate normals. Graduation rates count first-time, full-time students; earnings and debt are for students who received federal aid. Distances are straight-line. Colleges are described, not graded (how TownRatings describes colleges). Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.