Cedar Crest College
Private College in Allentown, PA. Six-year graduation rate 60%. Median 10-year earnings $59,460.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $59,460 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 60% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
84% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool is small at 1,362, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. Only 14% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Cedar Crest College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 60%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 71% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. 29% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. At 9:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 857 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $23,691 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $21,044 at $0–30k, $11,008 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $23,089. Borrowing is widespread: 73% take federal loans.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 155 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $21,044 |
| $30–48k | $24,250 |
| $48–75k | $21,490 |
| $75–110k | $19,909 |
| $110k+ | $11,008 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 623 of these 857 students, totalling $4,226,730 — an average of $6,784 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lehigh County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)