Dean College
Private College in Franklin, MA. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $38,109.
Ten-year median earnings of $38,109 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 55% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $25,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.66 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Dean College accepts 74% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 4,617 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 9% 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 Dean College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 55%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 68% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 34% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,142 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $32,085 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($26,996 versus $34,318), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 97% of students receive it, averaging $32,714. 72% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 337 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 | $26,996 |
| $30–48k | $26,798 |
| $48–75k | $28,640 |
| $75–110k | $31,161 |
| $110k+ | $34,318 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 823 of these 1,142 students, totalling $5,224,785 — an average of $6,348 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Norfolk 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)