Saint Joseph's
University - Lancaster
Private College in Lancaster, PA. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $86,881.
A decade after enrolling, the median Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster student earns $86,881 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 77% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Median debt at graduation is $25,500, 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 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster admits 41% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in five applicants are turned away. With 512 applicants, admissions statistics here move a lot on small changes. Yield is high — 41% of admitted students go on to enroll, well above the typical rate.
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 | — | 1 (1%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 77% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Retention is strong at 81%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. At 11:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. This is a small school — 1,648 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,571 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $38,730 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $37,532 at $0–30k versus $47,879 at $110k+. About 75% get grants averaging $9,099, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 55% 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 · 59 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 | $37,532 |
| $30–48k | $38,376 |
| $48–75k | $41,420 |
| $75–110k | $44,745 |
| $110k+ | $47,879 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 864 of these 1,571 students, totalling $6,187,841 — an average of $7,162 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lancaster County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Other (Other - Provide unlisted or multiple justifications); School has an accreditation issue
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)