College · Public · North Adams, MA · Town
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
North Adams, MA
Admit rate90%
6-yr median pay$37k
Net price / yr$16k
Undergrad size713
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $16k/yr for a shot at a $37k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 90% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
713 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 $26k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $16k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$104k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$64k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$40k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $12.4k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $21.4k
- Room & board
- $15.4k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants41%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans61%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$24k
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 retention72%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr56%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$37k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$48k
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
- Town
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 713
- Location
- North Adams, MA
- Region
- New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- New England Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- MCLA
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White73%
- Black9%
- Hispanic7%
- Two or more races5%
- Unknown3%
- Asian2%
- International1%
First-gen students33%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time8%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$46k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 22
What you can study.