College · Private nonprofit · Saint Peter, MN · Town
Gustavus Adolphus College
Saint Peter, MN
Religious affiliation
Admit rate61%
6-yr median pay$52k
Net price / yr$23k
Undergrad size1,878
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $23k/yr for a shot at a $52k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 61% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1290 · ACT 29.
If you get in
1,878 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $68k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $23k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$270k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$92k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$179k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $56.1k
- Room & board
- $11.8k
- Books & supplies
- $900
How students pay for it.
Pell grants21%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans54%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
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$52k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$66k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out16%
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
- 1,878
- Location
- Saint Peter, 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, selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White79%
- Hispanic6%
- International5%
- Two or more races4%
- Asian2%
- Black2%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students15%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$78k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 38
What you can study.