Lehigh University
Private Research University in Bethlehem, PA. Six-year graduation rate 88%. Median 10-year earnings $105,584.
A decade after enrolling, the median Lehigh University student earns $105,584 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. The six-year graduation rate of 88% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $21,960, 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 0.21 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 88% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Lehigh University admits 26% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in four applicants are turned away. With 20,396 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 28% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 30% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 680–730 | 445 (30%) |
| SAT Math | 690–770 | |
| ACT Composite | 31–34 | 137 (9%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Lehigh University →Academics
A 88% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 94% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 10:1 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. With 5,811 undergraduates, the school sits in the middle of the size distribution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 5,803 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $34,154 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $16,917 at $0–30k versus $48,751 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 57% of students at an average of $47,917. 37% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 1,531 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 | $16,917 |
| $30–48k | $17,140 |
| $48–75k | $18,722 |
| $75–110k | $22,184 |
| $110k+ | $48,751 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,125 of these 5,803 students, totalling $12,570,104 — an average of $5,915 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)