10-yr median earnings
$80,257
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore College is a private nonprofit institution in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $80,257
- 10-yr median earnings
- 7.5%
- Acceptance rate
- $23,149
- Avg net price / yr
- 93.2%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Swarthmore College pairs top-5% former-student earnings with a highly selective admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 4%
- former-student earnings, US
- 7.5%
- acceptance rate
- 93.2%
- 150%-time completion
- +43%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Suburb: Large
Carnegie: Bacc: A&S
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Swarthmore College profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
B+
College Value Score
75/100
Swarthmore College
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings A+
$80,257
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$23,149
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate A+
93.2%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$17,500
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
91.4%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A+
94.0%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$23,149
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
93.2%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 93.2%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Swarthmore College vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Swarthmore College ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Swarthmore College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$80,257 Top 4% higher than 96% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Swarthmore College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $80,257 | #183 of 5103 | 96th |
| Average net price | $23,149 | #3668 of 5020 | 27th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 93.2% | #122 of 4858 | 97th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 1,613 | #1676 of 5462 | 69th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
1,613
Undergraduate enrollment
7.5%
Acceptance rate
1,534
SAT average
93.2%
150%-time completion
$80,257
10-yr median earnings
94.0%
First-year retention
How Swarthmore College ranks in Pennsylvania
State rank among 270 reporting Pennsylvania colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Swarthmore College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $80,257 | #12 of 270 | 96th |
| Average net price | $23,149 | #170 of 264 | 36th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 93.2% | #8 of 259 | 97th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 1,613 | #72 of 282 | 74th |
Highest former-student earnings in Pennsylvania
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine | $138,767 | - |
| 2 | Carnegie Mellon University | $114,862 | $31,944 |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania | $111,371 | $28,699 |
| 4 | Lehigh University | $105,584 | $36,931 |
| 5 | Villanova University | $100,423 | $43,756 |
| 6 | Bucknell University | $93,807 | $40,766 |
| 7 | Lafayette College | $91,410 | $34,433 |
| 8 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia | $86,881 | $29,689 |
| 9 | Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster | $86,881 | $42,478 |
| 10 | Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing | $86,138 | - |
| 11 | Drexel University | $84,648 | $38,509 |
| 12 | Swarthmore CollegeThis school | $80,257 | $23,149 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 7.5% |
| SAT Average | 1,534 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 750 – 790 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 740 – 770 |
| ACT Average | 34 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 33 – 35 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Swarthmore College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k $7,690
$0 – $30k
$7,690 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k $4,951
$30k – $48k
$4,951 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k $11,444
$48k – $75k
$11,444 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$47,544 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Swarthmore College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $65,494 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $65,494 |
| Average Net Price | $23,149 |
19.5%
Pell Grant Rate
10.6%
Federal Loan Rate
$17,500
Median Debt
$186/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Swarthmore College swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $18,157 to $24,166 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as -22.7%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$18,157
Highest year
$24,166
Most recent (2023)
$18,686
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $24,1662023 · $18,686
Over the same years, enrollment went +6.8% (1,524 → 1,627 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
54.7%
Female
26.9%
First Generation
Outcomes
94.0%
Retention Rate
$56,211
Median Earnings (6yr)
62.4%
Earning Over $25K
91.4%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 93.2% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 94.0% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $56,211 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $80,257 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 62.4% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 91.4% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $17,500 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $186/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Top programs at Swarthmore College by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Computer and Information S…
Computer and Information Sciences, General
$150,942 median earnings
- Economics
Economics
$128,051 median earnings
- Engineering, General
Engineering, General
$78,519 median earnings
- Political Science and Gove… $58,372
Political Science and Government
$58,372 median earnings
- Biology, General $57,754
Biology, General
$57,754 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Bachelor's | 54 | $150,942 | - |
| Economics | Bachelor's | 80 | $128,051 | $19,500 |
| Engineering, General | Bachelor's | 28 | $78,519 | - |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | 36 | $58,372 | - |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | 30 | $57,754 | - |
| Education, Other | Bachelor's | 19 | - | - |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's | 53 | - | - |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | 0 | - | - |
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Swarthmore College? ▼
Swarthmore College is a private nonprofit institution in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. The acceptance rate is 7.5%. The average SAT score is 1,534. Undergraduate enrollment is 1,613 students.
How much do Swarthmore College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Swarthmore College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $80,257 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $56,211.
How much does Swarthmore College cost? ▼
The average net price at Swarthmore College is $23,149. In-state tuition is $65,494 and out-of-state tuition is $65,494. Median student debt at graduation is $17,500.
What is the graduation rate at Swarthmore College? ▼
Swarthmore College has a 93.2% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 94.0%.
Is Swarthmore College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Swarthmore College is $17,500, while former students earn a median of $80,257 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 22% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 91.4% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $186.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Swarthmore College
- Compare Swarthmore College against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Pennsylvania side by side.Browse Pennsylvania
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.