College · Private for-profit · Summerdale, PA · Suburb
Central Penn College
Summerdale, PA
Admit rate18%
6-yr median pay$41k
Net price / yr$19k
Undergrad size662
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $19k/yr for a shot at a $41k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 18% means this is competitive but not impossible.
If you get in
662 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $27k/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$108k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$76k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$33k
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
- $19.9k
- Room & board
- $7.6k
- Books & supplies
- $2,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants49%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans66%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
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 retention64%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$41k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$45k
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
- Suburb
- Control
- Private for-profit
- Undergrad size
- 662
- Location
- Summerdale, PA
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · higher part-time
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- Central Penn
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White55%
- Black18%
- Hispanic10%
- Two or more races5%
- Unknown4%
- International4%
- Asian3%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students51%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time80%
Many students enroll part-time — often working.
Veterans1%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$28k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 10
What you can study.