Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania · Also known as Swat · Website
$80,257
median earnings, 10 years after starting
$80,257
median earnings, 10 years after starting
Swarthmore College is a private nonprofit 4-year college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania with 1,613 undergraduates. Its average net price after grants is $23,149 a year (tuition and fees $65,494). It admits 7.5% of applicants and 92% of students finish within 6 years. Former students earn a median $80,257 a year 10 years after they started, and graduates leave with a median $17,500 in federal student loans.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · June 2026 data
Net price
$23,149
US median $17,138
Tuition and fees
$65,494
US median $11,837
Admission rate
7.5%
US median 78%
Completion rate
92%
Within 6 years, US 58%
Median debt
$17,500
About $186 a month
Earnings at 10 years
$80,257
Rank 183 of 5,094 in the US
Cost
What a year costs: posted prices and the average after grants
Net price by family income
Average yearly cost after grants, for students who get aid
- Net price
- $23,149
- Tuition and fees
- $65,494
- Cost of attendance
- $84,103
- Students with a need-based grant
- 19%
- Students with federal loans
- 11%
- Net price, family income under $30K
- $7,690
- Net price, family income $30K to $48K
- $4,951
- Net price, family income $48K to $75K
- $11,444
- Net price, family income $75K to $110K
- $22,443
- Net price, family income over $110K
- $47,544
Net price is what students who get aid pay on average after grants.
Tuition and net price by year
School years 2015-16 to 2024-25. The year on the chart is the year the school year starts.
Yearly cost
Tuition and fees went from $47,442 in 2015-16 to $65,494 in 2024-25.
Admission, completion and retention
Share of applicants admitted, of students who finish and of first-year students who come back
Admission and students
- Admission rate
- 7.5%
- Average SAT
- 1,534
- SAT reading, middle
- 740
- SAT math, middle
- 755
- ACT, middle
- 34
- Undergraduates
- 1,613
- Part-time students
- 0.1%
- Women
- 52%
- Students per teacher
- 7
- Completion rate
- 92%
- Retention rate
- 94%
- Highest degree
- Bachelor's degree
- Programs
- 69
- Endowment
- $2.7B
Earnings and debt
Compared with the medians of the colleges of its state, of colleges of the same kind and of all US colleges
Median earnings 10 years after starting rank 183 of 5,094 US colleges and 12 of 270 in Pennsylvania (1 = highest).
| Measure | College | PA median | Same kind | US median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price | $23,149 | $19,970 | $22,320 | $17,138 |
| Tuition in-state | $65,494 | $19,182 | $31,170 | $11,837 |
| Admission rate | 7.5% | 81% | 74% | 78% |
| Completion rate | 92% | 66% | 57% | 58% |
| Retention rate | 94% | 78% | 77% | 75% |
| Median debt | $17,500 | $17,500 | $24,287 | $13,271 |
| Earnings after 6 years | $56,211 | $42,275 | $44,392 | $35,656 |
| Earnings after 10 years | $80,257 | $49,700 | $52,928 | $40,813 |
Best-paid programs
Median earnings 1 year after graduation
Same kind: US private nonprofit 4-year colleges. Earnings and debt are medians of former students who received federal student aid. 86% of borrowers lowered their balance within 3 years. 77% earn more than a typical high school graduate 6 years after starting.
Programs
69 fields of study and credentials, with graduates, debt and earnings
| Field of study | Graduates | Median debt | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | US median 4 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EconomicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 76 | $19,500 | $76,944 | $128,051 | $82,686 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 73 | Withheld | $103,686 | $150,942 | $92,374 |
| MathematicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 49 | Withheld | $72,656 | Withheld | $69,562 |
| Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's | Bachelor's | 37 | Withheld | $40,449 | $58,372 | $63,293 |
| Engineering, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 33 | Withheld | Withheld | $78,519 | $89,359 |
| Research and Experimental PsychologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 29 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $55,695 |
| Biology, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 20 | Withheld | $41,122 | $57,754 | $57,214 |
| Neurobiology and NeurosciencesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 18 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $62,451 |
| English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 17 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $48,590 |
| Sociology and AnthropologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 16 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $46,959 |
| Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 16 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $41,367 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and ResearchBachelor's | Bachelor's | 15 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $55,012 |
| Education, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 14 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $49,808 |
| Education, OtherBachelor's | Bachelor's | 12 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $49,113 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular BiologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 11 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $65,466 |
| PhilosophyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 10 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $54,455 |
| ChemistryBachelor's | Bachelor's | 10 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $65,120 |
| PhysicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 9 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $76,786 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and ServicesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 7 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $49,984 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and LinguisticsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 7 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $55,000 |
| Classical and Ancient StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 7 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $50,477 |
| MusicBachelor's | Bachelor's | 7 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $42,892 |
| Cognitive ScienceBachelor's | Bachelor's | 6 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Astronomy and AstrophysicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 6 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | $68,333 |
| AnthropologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 6 | - | Withheld | Withheld | - |
In the area
- Jobs, pay and new homes: the county of Swarthmore and Pennsylvania on Local Economy
- More colleges: All colleges in Pennsylvania
- Homes: Homes for sale in Pennsylvania
Questions and answers
How much does Swarthmore College cost?
$23,149 a year is the average net price at Swarthmore College after grants and scholarships. Tuition and fees are $65,494, and the full cost of attendance with housing, food and books is $84,103. Families earning under $30,000 pay $7,690 on average.
What is the acceptance rate at Swarthmore College?
7.5% of applicants are admitted to Swarthmore College. The average SAT score of admitted students is 1,534 and the middle ACT score is 34. The median admission rate of colleges in Pennsylvania is 81%.
How much do Swarthmore College graduates earn?
$80,257 a year is the median pay of former Swarthmore College students who work, 10 years after they started ($56,211 after 6 years). That ranks 183 of 5,094 US colleges and 12 of 270 in Pennsylvania. Its best-paid program one year after graduation is Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's) at $103,686.
How much student debt do Swarthmore College graduates have?
$17,500 is the median federal student loan debt of Swarthmore College graduates, about $186 a month over 10 years. The median across US colleges is $13,271. 11% of undergraduates take out federal loans.
What is the graduation rate at Swarthmore College?
92% of first-time, full-time students at Swarthmore College finish within 6 years. 94% of first-year students come back for a second year. The median of private nonprofit 4-year colleges is 57%.
What are the most popular majors at Swarthmore College?
Economics (76 bachelor's graduates), Computer and Information Sciences, General (73 bachelor's graduates), Mathematics (49 bachelor's graduates) had the most graduates in the newest year, out of 69 programs.
Official public data, June 2026 release. Net price is for first-time, full-time students who get aid. Completion counts first-time, full-time students who finish within 150% of the normal time. Debt and earnings are medians of students who received federal student aid, measured a few years after they left, in the dollars of the year measured; earnings count former students who work and are not enrolled, including those who did not finish.