College · Private nonprofit · Allentown, PA · City
Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA
Women-only
Admit rate84%
6-yr median pay$48k
Net price / yr$19k
Undergrad size834
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $19k/yr for a shot at a $48k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 84% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 25.
If you get in
834 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $57k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $19k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$229k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$75k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$154k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.5x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $46.3k
- Room & board
- $13.4k
- Books & supplies
- $4,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants44%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans70%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention74%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr60%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$48k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$59k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out29%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 834
- Location
- Allentown, PA
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White47%
- Hispanic18%
- Unknown12%
- Black10%
- International7%
- Asian4%
- Two or more races2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students43%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time20%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$39k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 40
What you can study.