Lafayette College
Private College in Easton, PA. Six-year graduation rate 88%. Median 10-year earnings $91,410.
A decade after enrolling, the median Lafayette College student earns $91,410 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 88% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $16,000, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.18 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 88% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Lafayette College admits 31% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly two in three applicants are turned away. The applicant pool is large — 10,195 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 22% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 24% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 670–740 | 164 (24%) |
| SAT Math | 680–760 | |
| ACT Composite | 31–33 | 70 (10%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Lafayette College →Academics
88% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 90% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. At 10:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. With 2,764 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,746 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $38,442 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $12,716 at $0–30k versus $52,608 at $110k+. About 61% get grants averaging $45,956, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 20% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 697 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 | $12,716 |
| $30–48k | $7,445 |
| $48–75k | $10,881 |
| $75–110k | $12,581 |
| $110k+ | $52,608 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 542 of these 2,746 students, totalling $2,774,443 — an average of $5,119 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Northampton 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)