College · Private nonprofit · Northfield, MN · Town
Carleton College
Northfield, MN
Admit rate20%
6-yr median pay$54k
Net price / yr$25k
Undergrad size2,086
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $25k/yr for a shot at a $54k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 20% means this is competitive but not impossible. Admitted students average SAT 1517 · ACT 33.
If you get in
2,086 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $85k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $25k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$340k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$102k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$238k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $68.9k
- Room & board
- $17.6k
- Books & supplies
- $938
How students pay for it.
Pell grants17%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans43%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$17k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention96%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr90%
Most finish on time.
6-yr median pay$54k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$76k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 2,086
- Location
- Northfield, MN
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White51%
- International10%
- Asian10%
- Hispanic10%
- Two or more races9%
- Black6%
- Unknown3%
First-gen students16%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$79k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 35
What you can study.