Cedar Crest College
About
Cedar Crest College is a private liberal arts women's college in Allentown, Pennsylvania. In the fall of 2024, the college enrolled 886 undergraduate and 362 graduate students. Students of all genders can pursue degree programs through the School of Adult and Graduate Education (SAGE) at the undergraduate and graduate level.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 75 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 74 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing1 · 1.3%
- No Data74 · 98.7%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Programmatic accreditations · 11
Action history · 15
- Apr 2025Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (NUR) - Baccalaureate program
- Apr 2025Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. — May 6, 2013 Formerly: National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission · Nursing (MNUR) - Master's program
- Apr 2024Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
- Apr 2024Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
- Dec 2023Initial AccreditationAmerican Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 426 students received $2.4M in Pell grants, alongside $14.8M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 530 borrowers who entered repayment, 8 (1.5%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Cedar Crest College
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 11
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Cedar Crest College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Cedar Crest College selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectCedar Crest College | 60% | — | 1,290 | $22,909 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
Albright College | 51% | 76.3% | 1,380 | $21,664 | Baccalaureate |
Alvernia University | 56% | 58.1% | 2,796 | $28,329 | Doctoral/Professional |
DeSales University | 72% | 77.1% | 2,972 | $30,465 | Doctoral/Professional |
Drexel University | 78% | 79.4% | 21,153 | $38,428 | R1 Research |
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania | 43% | 92.1% | 5,633 | $15,089 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Kutztown University of Pennsylvania | 54% | 90.8% | 7,467 | $21,205 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
La Salle University | 58% | 96.6% | 3,153 | $21,409 | Doctoral/Professional |
Moravian University | 72% | 54.2% | 2,745 | $29,843 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs |
Muhlenberg College | 82% | 72.0% | 1,788 | $30,314 | Baccalaureate |
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus | 86% | 60.6% | 50,737 | $32,598 | R1 Research |
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Lehigh Valley | 18% | 97.4% | 867 | $19,324 | — |
Temple University | 75% | 80.4% | 29,640 | $29,219 | R1 Research |
West Chester University of Pennsylvania | 71% | 78.4% | 17,171 | $22,673 | R2 Research |
| Peer group median | 66% | 78.4% | 3,063 | $25,619 |
Cedar Crest College Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) strives to serve the College community by providing accurate, relevant, and timely data to both internal and external constituencies and informs the decision making and planning processes that support the College’s mission and goals.
Visit IR office page- Lyn WilliamsRegistrar and Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Common Data Set (1)
The institution's official annual Common Data Set publications — the most detailed reference for enrollment, admissions, and outcomes.
Reports & documents (3)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- Data dictionaryInstitutional Research2026The page outlines the responsibilities of the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness at Cedar Crest College. This office provides data to internal and external stakeholders, supports mandated reporting requirements, administers surveys and course evaluations, and informs decision-making processes. They are key contacts for external reporting such as IPEDS and other institutional profiles, and provide internal resources like dashboards and fact books.cedarcrest.edu
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planVision 20262023Cedar Crest College's strategic plan, 'Vision 2026,' aims to enhance the institution's educational and community impact from 2023 to 2026. The plan focuses on delivering innovative academic experiences, supporting community well-being, and fostering global change for the common good. Key objectives include increasing student enrollment, improving retention and graduation rates, expanding health science programs, and enhancing the College's endowment and revenue streams.cedarcrest.edu
Notable alumni of Cedar Crest College (7)
A curated list of alumni recognized for notable achievements across industries.
- Jane AmsterdamJournalism
- Shushan AvagyanLiterature
- Rita Kogler CarverTheater
- Judy McGrathTelevision
- Dorothy PageEntertainment
- Suzanne Fisher StaplesLiterature
- Blenda WilsonEducation
Frequently asked questions about Cedar Crest College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cedar Crest College.
What is the graduation rate at Cedar Crest College?
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Where is Cedar Crest College located?
Who runs Institutional Research at Cedar Crest College?
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