College · Private nonprofit · Westminster, MD · Town
McDaniel College
Westminster, MD
Admit rate78%
6-yr median pay$48k
Net price / yr$22k
Undergrad size1,617
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $22k/yr for a shot at a $48k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 78% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
1,617 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 $65k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $22k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$261k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$88k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$174k
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
- $52.1k
- Room & board
- $13.0k
- Books & supplies
- $1,522
How students pay for it.
Pell grants36%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans58%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention78%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr63%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$48k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$61k
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
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,617
- Location
- Westminster, MD
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White53%
- Black24%
- Hispanic11%
- Two or more races7%
- Asian2%
- Unknown2%
- International1%
First-gen students26%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$70k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 37
What you can study.