College · Private nonprofit · Cambridge, MA · City
Lesley University
Cambridge, MA
Admit rate97%
6-yr median pay$40k
Net price / yr$31k
Undergrad size1,122
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $31k/yr for a shot at a $40k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 97% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
1,122 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 $52k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $31k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$206k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$125k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$82k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.1x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $34.3k
- Room & board
- $19.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants31%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans54%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$21k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention75%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr58%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$40k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$51k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out19%
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
- 1,122
- Location
- Cambridge, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral/Professional Universities
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White46%
- Hispanic19%
- Unknown12%
- Black9%
- Asian6%
- Two or more races4%
- International3%
First-gen students29%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time30%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$52k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 34
What you can study.