College of
Our Lady of the Elms
Private College in Chicopee, MA. Six-year graduation rate 68%. Median 10-year earnings $51,540.
Ten years after entry, the median College of Our Lady of the Elms student earns $51,540 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate of 68% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
Admission is not the constraint here: 85% of applicants are accepted. Only 1,269 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Yield is low at 11%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 | — | 2 (2%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at College of Our Lady of the Elms →Academics
68% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention is 76% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. A 24% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The 11:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. 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 951 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $19,870 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $8,099 while those at $110k+ pay $25,491. Grant aid is widespread — 93% of students receive it, averaging $25,471. Most students borrow — 77% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 196 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 | $8,099 |
| $30–48k | $22,645 |
| $48–75k | $17,539 |
| $75–110k | $21,243 |
| $110k+ | $25,491 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 732 of these 951 students, totalling $7,746,162 — an average of $10,582 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hampden 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)