Menlo College
Private College in Atherton, CA. Six-year graduation rate 54%. Median 10-year earnings $76,419.
Ten-year median earnings of $76,419 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. Six-year completion sits at 54%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $21,750 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 68% puts Menlo College on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 4,637 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 5%, 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Menlo College →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 54%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. 70% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 811 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $32,563 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $25,546 at the $0–30k band to $37,298 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $38,031. 45% 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 · 173 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 | $25,546 |
| $30–48k | $27,618 |
| $48–75k | $28,103 |
| $75–110k | $31,596 |
| $110k+ | $37,298 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 364 of these 811 students, totalling $2,497,686 — an average of $6,862 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Mateo 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)