College · Private nonprofit · Boston, MA · City
Emerson College
Boston, MA
Admit rate51%
6-yr median pay$43k
Net price / yr$49k
Undergrad size3,870
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $49k/yr for a shot at a $43k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 51% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1358 · ACT 30.
If you get in
3,870 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $80k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $49k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$322k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$197k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$125k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback4.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $57.1k
- Room & board
- $20.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,250
How students pay for it.
Pell grants16%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans43%
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?
Graduation · 6 yr77%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$43k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$63k
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
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 3,870
- Location
- Boston, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- Emerson
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White55%
- International15%
- Hispanic12%
- Black6%
- Asian6%
- Two or more races5%
- Unknown2%
First-gen students13%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$93k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 14
What you can study.