Whittier College
Whittier, California
Whittier College is a private nonprofit institution in Whittier, California enrolling 764 students, according to the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. The acceptance rate is 80.8%. Graduates earn a median of $59,492 ten years after enrollment, based on U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal financial aid data. The average net price after financial aid is $25,757. This profile includes admissions data, graduation rates, program-level earnings, and cost breakdowns to help students compare colleges using official federal data.
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Whittier College
Whittier College operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Whittier, California (suburb: large), with a total reported enrollment of 764 students of which 848 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Whittier College is categorized as “21” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.
Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 80.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and an ACT midpoint of 26. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $25,757, with published in-state tuition of $51,350 and a Pell grant recipient share of 33.9%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,937, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.
Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 61.7%, and the first-year retention rate is 66.2%. Graduates earn a median of $59,492 ten years after enrolling, compared with $46,025 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 69100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 66.4% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.
Quick Facts
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 80.8% |
| ACT Average | 26 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $51,350 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $51,350 |
| Average Net Price | $25,757 |
Net Price by Family Income
| $0 – $30,000 | $21,718 |
| $30,001 – $48,000 | $19,928 |
| $48,001 – $75,000 | $24,973 |
| Over $110,000 | $30,599 |
Student Demographics
Outcomes
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Law | First Professional | — | $81,959 | $227,419 |
| Education, General | Master's | 25 | $79,462 | $37,098 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Bachelor's | 43 | $73,792 | $24,000 |
| Social Sciences, General | Bachelor's | 21 | $64,736 | $24,937 |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | 23 | $58,397 | $21,500 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's | 18 | $55,853 | — |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's | 14 | $55,536 | $24,125 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | Bachelor's | 46 | $47,719 | $25,497 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services | Bachelor's | 24 | $44,877 | $25,750 |
| Social Work | Bachelor's | 16 | $33,281 | — |
| Sociology | Bachelor's | 9 | $28,309 | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's | 20 | $27,765 | — |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | Bachelor's | 6 | $25,194 | — |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's | 31 | $14,935 | $25,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the admissions statistics for Whittier College? ▼
How much do Whittier College graduates earn? ▼
How much does Whittier College cost? ▼
What is the graduation rate at Whittier College? ▼
Is Whittier College worth the student debt? ▼
Guides & Resources
Analyze the financial return of a degree
Which fields of study pay off fastest
Schools where graduates earn the most vs. cost
A data-driven framework for picking schools
How College Scorecard measures outcomes
Compare costs, outcomes, and career paths
Related Colleges
Other private nonprofit institutions in California
Related Data Sources
Research Whittier, California with related datasets
Data Sources
Data as of 2024-25 academic year. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.
Primary: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard. Data reflects most recent available year.
Institutional characteristics: IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) institutional characteristics file.
Earnings: Median earnings 6 and 10 years after enrollment, from U.S. Treasury tax records linked to federal student aid data.
Program data: Credential-level earnings from the College Scorecard Field of Study dataset.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
All federal data sources used on this page
- NCES IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) — enrollment, completions, finance, faculty for every U.S. college. nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- College Scorecard — U.S. Dept of Education outcomes data — earnings, debt, completion. collegescorecard.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — K-12 → college transition data. nces.ed.gov/ccd
- NSC StudentTracker — enrollment and completion outcomes by institution. nscresearchcenter.org
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections — occupation outlook by education level. bls.gov/emp
- U.S. Census Bureau ACS — educational attainment + degree population. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
Earnings data sourced from IRS records via the U.S. Treasury–Department of Education matching used by the College Scorecard.