BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

College of the Atlantic

Bar Harbor, Maine·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·New England·coa.edu
6-yr Graduation
68%
-10.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
358
peer median 1,302
Avg net price
$24,028
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
476
476 candidates competed
Admitted
334
70.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
78
23.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
68%-10.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
57%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
68%
Full-time retention
85%

Pell equity

10.0pp gap
Pell recipients
67%
Non-Pell
57%

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 7 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 6 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
7
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
14.3% of portfolio
Fail rate
14.3%
+13.7pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

7programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data6 · 85.7%
  • Failing1 · 14.3%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
6

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.

1
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
-10.5%
$31,138 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

1
Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies General
Bachelor Degree · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
76%
$23,637 debt · $31,138 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

New England Commission of Higher Education

Accredited since 1976Next review Jun 2028

Action history · 1

  1. Mar 2018Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$11,886
$30–48k$12,998
$48–75k$14,569
$75–110k$24,880
$110k+$35,148

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$24,028
vs Baccalaureate median $23,984
Federal loans
49.9%
In-state tuition
$46,179
Out-of-state
$46,179

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 135 students received $778K in Pell grants, alongside $1.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
135
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$778K
$778,480 total
Direct Loans
$1.3M
316 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$667K
158 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$454K
148 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$39K
2 loan awards
Parent PLUS$176K
8 loan awards

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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 77 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
77
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.8%
2017
1.8%
2018
3.2%
2019
0.0%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* 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.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at College of the Atlantic

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs1
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

90 total completions
01Liberal Arts
90100.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
358
12-mo unduplicated
386
Undergraduate
381
Graduate
5

Gender split

Men
28%110
Women
72%276

Race / ethnicity composition

White
67.3%
Non-resident
21.5%
Hispanic
6.2%
Two or more
2.0%
Asian
1.4%
Unknown
1.4%
Black
0.3%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
13.16
5 offenses · 380 students

3-year trend

13.512 yrs ago15.961 yr ago13.16Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
16
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
6
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
4
Rape
1

By location

5total
  • On campus4
  • Non-campus1

Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
9.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
32

College of the Atlantic vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions College of the Atlantic selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

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
SubjectCollege of the Atlantic
68%358$24,028Baccalaureate
Bates College
90%13.3%1,760$30,703Baccalaureate
Bowdoin College
95%7.1%1,881$20,786Baccalaureate
Colby College
89%7.1%2,412$23,939Baccalaureate
Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology
44%79.6%274$14,334Baccalaureate
Hampshire College
54%75.3%844$25,810Baccalaureate
Peer group median79%13.3%1,302$23,984

Frequently asked questions about College of the Atlantic

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about College of the Atlantic.

What is the graduation rate at College of the Atlantic?

College of the Atlantic reports a 6-year graduation rate of 68% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend College of the Atlantic?

College of the Atlantic reports a total enrollment of 358 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at College of the Atlantic?

The average net price at College of the Atlantic is $24,028 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at College of the Atlantic?

College of the Atlantic's yield rate is 23.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is College of the Atlantic located?

College of the Atlantic is located in Bar Harbor, Maine 04609.

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