College · Private nonprofit · Atherton, CA · Suburb
Menlo College
Atherton, CA
Hispanic-serving
Admit rate68%
6-yr median pay$61k
Net price / yr$31k
Undergrad size752
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $31k/yr for a shot at a $61k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 68% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
752 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $72k/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$288k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$124k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$164k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.1x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $53.6k
- Room & board
- $18.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
How students pay for it.
Pell grants31%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans44%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$22k
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 retention70%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr54%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$61k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$76k
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
- Suburb
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 752
- Location
- Atherton, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · Mixed
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Also known as
- Menlo
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Hispanic32%
- International22%
- White17%
- Two or more races10%
- Asian7%
- Unknown5%
- Black5%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time3%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$50k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 11
What you can study.