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How Do I Know If a Private College is Financially Stable?
College closures have disproportionately impacted private colleges across the country, and it may leave students and families wondering if private colleges are a good choice. Not all private colleges are facing financial hardship, and there are ways to check a college’s health.
FAQs
How do I know if a college won’t close?
Most colleges and universities are nonprofit entities, and their 990s – required federal filings – are available online. A college or university that has run multiple years of deficits, without it being tied to a major investment or other reason, may be worth investigating further.
Russell Sage has run a budget surplus for six straight years, and its board of trustees has been committed to balanced budgets. You can read about our financial success in this news article about the legacy left by our former president, Christopher Ames.
3,100
Enrollment trends can also be a helpful indicator. This year, we’re celebrating our largest enrollment in college history, with more than 3,100 undergraduate and graduate students.
Is a lot of debt for a college a bad thing?
Not always, especially if it enhances the student experience in ways that keep revenue strong to support a balanced budget.
But taking on too much debt has been a common denominator for many of the institutions that have ultimately closed. Russell Sage College’s board of trustees has been prudent about debt load, and the college has been fortunate to benefit from philanthropy that has offset the cost of many of its recent renovations.
Sage Hall, Troy NY 
Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Pediatric Clinical Space 
Schacht Fine Arts Center, Albany NY 
Esteves House, Troy NY
Current renovation projects at Russell Sage include a full-scale renovation of Sage Hall, a residence hall on campus; a 21st century classroom for education majors to practice their hands-on skills; and renovations to classrooms in Schacht Fine Arts Center.
Recent renovations include Esteves House, an all-women residence hall, which was supported by donor and alumnae Donna Robinson Esteves, and new physical therapy and occupational therapy lab spaces in John Paine Hall.
What are positive financial signs?
Aside from a balanced budget or budget surpluses and reasonable debt, learn if the college is strategic with its resources to direct most of its dollars to students.
In April 2025, Russell Sage and Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, whose campuses border each other in Albany, announced plans for a strategic merger. Pending regulatory approvals, and with an anticipated completion date of fall 2027, the merger will create a comprehensive institution – to be known as Russell Sage University – with an estimated 4,000 students across the campuses in Albany and Troy, New York, and online.
Russell Sage and ACPHS have been sharing services for years, including wellness services, security, and athletics spaces. This merger was smart because it combines two colleges with similar missions to create one of the largest comprehensive private institutions in the region – with the broadest catalog of programs in the health professions, biomedical sciences, and pharmacy, as well as strong programs in education, business, the social sciences, and the arts. And because it makes efficient use of resources on two campuses that neighbor each other, that leaves more dollars for students.
$246 million
The new institution will result in a unified institution with combined assets of approximately $246 million, including $115 million in endowment investments, based on current figures.
