Masters Colleges & Universities: Small ProgramsPrivate nonprofit

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Mid East·etown.edu
6-yr Graduation
76%
+8.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Total enrollment
2,283
peer median 1,444
Avg net price
$26,198
-$171 vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
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About

Elizabethtown College is a private liberal arts college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1899, the college offers a range of professional and academic programs, emphasizing critical thinking, communication, and civic engagement. It also prioritizes sustainability and has a strong commitment to educating for service and social responsibility among its students.

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
3,624
3,624 candidates competed
Admitted
2,822
77.9% acceptance rate
Enrolled
498
17.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
76%+8.0pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
4-year graduation
69%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
76%
Full-time retention
84%

Pell equity

18.0pp gap
Pell recipients
59%
Non-Pell
77%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 18.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 123 Title IV programs, 14 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 109 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
123
Passing
14
11.4% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

123programs
  • Passing14 · 11.4%
  • No Data109 · 88.6%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
13
No data
109

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.

14
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+19.2%
$70,047 vs $58,761
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+34.3%
$47,359 vs $35,274
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+40.4%
$49,514 vs $35,274
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+45.2%
$51,224 vs $35,274
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+54.0%
$54,337 vs $35,274
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
+55.5%
$54,837 vs $35,274
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+78.8%
$63,073 vs $35,274
Business Administration Management and Operations
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+85.1%
$108,773 vs $58,761

Debt vs earnings

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

13
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
57%
$27,000 debt · $47,359 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
55%
$27,000 debt · $49,514 earn
Human Services General
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
50%
$25,540 debt · $51,224 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
50%
$27,000 debt · $54,337 earn
Social Work
Bachelor Degree · Public Administration And Social Service Professions
49%
$27,000 debt · $54,837 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
43%
$27,000 debt · $63,073 earn
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences Other
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
39%
$27,000 debt · $69,614 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
36%
$26,633 debt · $73,542 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1948Next review Jun 2028

Programmatic accreditations · 5

Action history · 9

  1. Aug 2025Deny Substantive Change: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  2. Dec 2024Accreditation Reaffirmed: Warning Removed
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  3. Aug 2024Warning or Equivalent-Factors Affecting Academic Quality
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  4. Dec 2023Initial Accreditation
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTD) - Programs leading to a Doctoral Degree
  5. Jun 2021Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Middle States Commission on 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$17,946
$30–48k$19,414
$48–75k$21,711
$75–110k$25,608
$110k+$29,855

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

Avg net price (private)
$26,198
-$170vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs median $26,369
Federal loans
66.6%
In-state tuition
$36,842
Out-of-state
$36,842

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 548 students received $2.9M in Pell grants, alongside $16.3M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
548
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.9M
$2,930,004 total
Direct Loans
$16.3M
2,440 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.5M
814 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$4.8M
1,175 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$2.8M
194 loan awards
Parent PLUS$3.9M
212 loan awards
Grad PLUS$1.4M
45 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 586 borrowers who entered repayment, 6 (1.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.0%
-1.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
586
Defaulted
6
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
3.5%
2017
3.4%
2018
2.6%
2019
1.0%
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 Elizabethtown College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs97
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

481 total completions
01Business
14830.8%
02Health Professions
7716.0%
03Multi/Interdisciplinary
6112.7%
04Biological Sciences
4810.0%
05Education
449.1%
06Engineering
367.5%
07Public Admin
194.0%
08Visual/Performing Arts
173.5%
09Communication
173.5%
10Psychology
142.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,283
12-mo unduplicated
2,553
Undergraduate
2,020
Graduate
533

Gender split

Men
37%950
Women
63%1,603

Race / ethnicity composition

White
83.0%
Hispanic
6.2%
Black
3.5%
Two or more
2.3%
Asian
2.0%
Non-resident
1.9%
Unknown
1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
449
279 M · 170 W
Women athletes
37.9%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$3.0M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$7K
$8K
Head-coach salaries
$28K
$30K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
125 M · 72 W
$205K
Lacrosse
48 M · 19 W
$279K
Soccer
38 M · 25 W
$279K
Baseball
41 M ·
$185K
Swimming
18 M · 17 W
$140K
Volleyball
16 M · 19 W
$156K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
2.97
6 offenses · 2,021 students

3-year trend

2.132 yrs ago3.621 yr ago2.97Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
17
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
14
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
4

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
5
Fondling
1

By location

6total
  • On campus6

Includes 6 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
3
Dating violence
1
Stalking
5 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs012
Liquor020

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
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
109

Elizabethtown College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Elizabethtown College 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
SubjectElizabethtown College
76%2,283$26,198Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Bridgewater College
53%91.7%1,448$20,173Baccalaureate
Hartwick College
53%69.6%1,097$29,800Baccalaureate
Juniata College
74%78.9%1,321$27,663Baccalaureate
Lebanon Valley College
65%83.8%2,146$28,132Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Saint Vincent College
69%61.7%1,440$23,331Baccalaureate
St Bonaventure University
67%81.6%2,752$27,151Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Susquehanna University
82%81.4%2,255$26,539Baccalaureate
Washington & Jefferson College
70%80.6%1,309$25,544Baccalaureate
Westminster College
65%92.6%1,191$20,800Baccalaureate
Peer group median68%81.4%1,444$26,369

Elizabethtown College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Office of Institutional Research
Email
kennedyl [at] etown.edu
Phone
717-361-1494
Address
Alpha Hall, Room 003

Institutional Research is an integral part of successful planning and decision-making by the institution. Through collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating relevant and accurate information, Institutional Research seeks to promote institutional effectiveness.

Visit IR office page
Team
2 members
  • Lisa Kennedy
    Director of Institutional Research
  • Susan Mapp, Ph.D., MSSW
    Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Innovation

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.

Grants & funding (3)

Federal grant awards and open funding opportunities awarded to this institution.

Frequently asked questions about Elizabethtown College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Elizabethtown College.

What is the graduation rate at Elizabethtown College?

Elizabethtown College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 76% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Elizabethtown College?

Elizabethtown College reports a total enrollment of 2,283 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Elizabethtown College?

The average net price at Elizabethtown College is $26,198 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Elizabethtown College?

Elizabethtown College's yield rate is 17.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Elizabethtown College located?

Elizabethtown College is located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania 17022-2298.

Who runs Institutional Research at Elizabethtown College?

Elizabethtown College's IR work is done by the Office of Institutional Research.

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