Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York · Private Nonprofit · 61.7% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 37/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Sarah Lawrence College scores 37 (Below Benchmark). The fundamentals SLC excels at are visible in the data: a 71.3% six-year completion rate, an 85.1% three-year repayment rate (graduates pay down principal aggressively), and a median federal debt of $27,000 - restrained for a school of this profile. What drags the score is the cost-to-early-earnings gap. Sticker tuition is $66,862, net price is $41,437, and four-year out-of-pocket runs $165,748. Average earnings six years after entry are just $31,400, climbing to a median $53,603 by the ten-year mark. The early-career earnings figure substantially undersells SLC's actual graduate trajectory: students from this LAC funnel disproportionately into writing, arts, social-impact nonprofits, publishing, and graduate school, where early-career earnings are structurally low but mid-career and lifetime earnings curve up steeply. The Scorecard's six-year snapshot captures the trough, not the trajectory. The 16.4-year payback period and 0.86 debt-to-earnings ratio are real numbers, but for SLC's specific student funnel - many of whom go on to law, medicine, MFA programs, and creative careers - the data alone tells an incomplete story.
How Sarah Lawrence College scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score37/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Payback period16.4 years - The median payback across the schools we score is about 12 years.
Sarah Lawrence College
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $66,862/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $66,862/yr |
| Average net price | $41,437/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $165,748 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $53,603 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $31,400 |
| Median debt at graduation | $27,000 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $286 |
| Estimated payback period | 16.4 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 71.3% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 1,530 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $66,862/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $41,437/year, or roughly $165,748 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $29,876/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $47,810/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $27,000, which works out to about $286 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($31,400) and comes to 0.86, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $29,876 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $29,810 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $40,869 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $35,340 |
| $110,001+ | $47,810 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning $0-30,000 pay $29,876 net - a meaningful institutional aid commitment that brings the price down by about $37,000 from sticker. For Pell-eligible students this still represents roughly 100% of household income for a single year, but SLC's strong financial-aid posture is real. The four-year burden of about $120,000 is heavy.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
$30,001-48,000 pays $29,810 (essentially flat with the lowest band) and $48,001-75,000 jumps to $40,869 - an $11,000 step-up that compresses middle-income aid sharply. $75,001-110,000 settles back to $35,340, an inverted bracket pattern likely reflecting merit-aid stacking for academically strong students at the upper-middle band. Middle-income families should run the SLC net price calculator carefully because the bracket structure is non-monotonic.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Families above $110,000 pay $47,810 - the highest bracket, close to but not at sticker. Four-year cost approaches $191,000 for full-pay families. The ROI math is challenging on a pure earnings-versus-cost basis, but for families whose calculus includes graduate-school placement, creative-career networks, and the New York metro location, SLC's value proposition extends beyond what the numbers capture.
Earnings by Major
Top 1 most popular majors at Sarah Lawrence College with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Arts and Sciences | $48,225 | D |
Earnings reflect median 4-year post-completion (or 1-year where 4-year unavailable). Grades based on debt-to-earnings ratio.
Program Analysis
Why these programs deliver their earnings outcomes.
Liberal Arts and Sciences
Liberal Arts and Sciences is effectively the only reported program at SLC, with 312 graduates - consistent with the school's interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary curriculum that resists traditional CIP categorization. First-year earnings of $25,846 climb to $48,225 by year four - nearly doubling - which validates the patient-earnings-curve thesis. Median debt of $24,245 produces a 0.938 ratio (D grade by the formal metric) but the four-year recovery and 85% repayment rate together signal that graduates are managing the debt successfully. The credential serves writers, artists, social-science researchers, and grad-school-bound students; the formal grade undersells the actual trajectory.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 81.4% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 85.1% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 83.7% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 88.4% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Sarah Lawrence College’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 61.7% |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 590-690 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 650-740 |
| ACT Composite (25th-75th) | 28-31 |
| Enrollment | 1,530 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 11.8% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $11,235 |
SLC admits 61.7% of applicants - moderately selective. SAT mid-ranges (Math 590-690, Reading 650-740) run higher on the verbal section, reflecting SLC's writing-and-humanities focus. The ACT mid-range is 28-31. The combination of moderate selectivity, strong SAT verbal scores, and a 71.3% completion rate signals an academically prepared, self-directed student body that succeeds in SLC's narrative-evaluation curriculum.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Lawrence College (this school) | 37 | $41,437 | $53,603 |
| Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences | 94 | $29,882 | $131,426 |
| Adelphi University | 75 | $30,783 | $75,482 |
| Lincoln Memorial University | 41 | $20,406 | $49,956 |
| Felician University | 40 | $40,045 | $57,602 |
| Bethel University | 34 | $12,595 | $47,482 |
Who Thrives Here
The school fits writers, artists, performers, and humanities-driven students who want a narrative-evaluation curriculum (no traditional grades), small seminar classes, and a deeply customized academic experience. The 71.3% completion rate confirms students who matriculate generally finish, and the 85.1% repayment rate indicates graduates land on their feet financially even when early-career earnings are modest. Students drawn to creative and intellectual fields with patient earnings curves are the natural fit.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Sarah Lawrence College scores 37/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $41,437 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $53,603 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at about 16.4 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What it has going for it: its 71.3% graduation rate, high loan repayment success. What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a long payback period.
Median debt of $27,000 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $31,400 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. Your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Sarah Lawrence College: Common Questions
Is Sarah Lawrence College worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Sarah Lawrence College scores 37/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $41,437 a year after aid against $53,603 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at about 16.4 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Sarah Lawrence College cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $41,437 a year, or roughly $165,748 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Sarah Lawrence College graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $53,603 ten years after enrolling, roughly $11,803 a year more than the median high-school graduate ($41,800, per NCES, 2022). That earnings gap is what has to cover the cost of the degree.
How long does it take to pay off Sarah Lawrence College?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at about 16.4 years for Sarah Lawrence College. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Sarah Lawrence College graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $27,000, against average earnings of $31,400 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.86. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. How much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Sarah Lawrence College?
The six-year graduation rate is 71.3%, at or above the 64% national average for four-year schools (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.