BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Muhlenberg College

Allentown, Pennsylvania·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Mid East·muhlenberg.edu
6-yr Graduation
82%
Total enrollment
1,788
peer median 1,734
Avg net price
$30,314
-$939 vs Baccalaureate
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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
4,963
4,963 candidates competed
Admitted
3,573
72.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
466
13.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
82%
4-year graduation
67%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
82%
Full-time retention
90%

Pell equity

3.0pp gap
Pell recipients
83%
Non-Pell
80%

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 46 Title IV programs, 12 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 34 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
46
Passing
12
26.1% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

46programs
  • Passing12 · 26.1%
  • No Data34 · 73.9%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
2
Safe
10
No data
34

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.

12
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+15.4%
$40,161 vs $34,808
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+20.9%
$42,092 vs $34,808
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+62.3%
$56,503 vs $34,808
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+68.0%
$58,473 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+74.6%
$60,778 vs $34,808
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+91.2%
$66,540 vs $34,808
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+125.1%
$78,360 vs $34,808
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+139.1%
$83,215 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

11
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
67%
$27,000 debt · $40,161 earn
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
64%
$26,996 debt · $42,092 earn
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
48%
$27,000 debt · $56,503 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
45%
$26,241 debt · $58,473 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
42%
$25,412 debt · $60,778 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
41%
$27,000 debt · $66,540 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
30%
$23,500 debt · $78,360 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
29%
$24,165 debt · $83,215 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Accredited since 1921Next review Jan 2033

Action history · 4

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  2. Jan 2021Approved for Distance Education
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  3. Jan 2020Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  4. Jan 2020Grant Substantive Change: Other
    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$13,742
$30–48k$16,144
$48–75k$19,712
$75–110k$26,057
$110k+$39,900

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

Avg net price (private)
$30,314
-$938vs Baccalaureate median $31,253
Federal loans
55.4%
In-state tuition
$60,240
Out-of-state
$60,240

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 510 students received $3.0M in Pell grants, alongside $9.4M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
510
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.0M
$3,040,196 total
Direct Loans
$9.4M
1,621 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$2.9M
650 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.9M
821 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$338K
21 loan awards
Parent PLUS$3.3M
129 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 410 borrowers who entered repayment, 3 (0.7%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.7%
-1.6pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
410
Defaulted
3
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.5%
2017
3.5%
2018
1.9%
2019
0.7%
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 Muhlenberg College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs45
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

603 total completions
01Business
14423.9%
02Visual/Performing Arts
13322.1%
03Psychology
7612.6%
04Biological Sciences
6711.1%
05Social Sciences
559.1%
06Communication
508.3%
07English Language
213.5%
08Health Professions
193.2%
09History
193.2%
10Computer Sciences
193.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,788
12-mo unduplicated
1,938
Undergraduate
1,899
Graduate
39

Gender split

Men
41%788
Women
59%1,150

Race / ethnicity composition

White
71.7%
Hispanic
11.3%
Black
5.0%
Two or more
4.0%
Asian
3.5%
Unknown
3.1%
Non-resident
1.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
501
330 M · 171 W
Women athletes
34.1%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$4.2M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$75K
$47K
Head-coach salaries
$47K
$42K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 12

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
77 M · 70 W
$224K
Football
113 M ·
$662K
Lacrosse
50 M · 32 W
$580K
Soccer
33 M · 30 W
$309K
Wrestling
39 M ·
$191K
Baseball
34 M ·
$259K

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
2.55
5 offenses · 1,959 students

3-year trend

2.902 yrs ago1.911 yr ago2.55Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
15
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
12
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Rape
3
Burglary
1
Fondling
1

By location

5total
  • On campus5

Includes 5 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

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

Hate crimes by bias

  • Ethnicity1

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs16
Liquor156

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)
158

Muhlenberg College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Muhlenberg 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
SubjectMuhlenberg College
82%1,788$30,314Baccalaureate
Albright College
51%76.3%1,380$21,664Baccalaureate
Franklin and Marshall College
84%28.2%1,808$39,061Baccalaureate
Bryn Mawr College
82%29.4%1,679$40,690Baccalaureate
Swarthmore College
92%7.5%1,623$18,686Baccalaureate
Dickinson College
80%42.1%2,314$32,191Baccalaureate
Peer group median82%29.4%1,734$31,253

Frequently asked questions about Muhlenberg College

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

What is the graduation rate at Muhlenberg College?

Muhlenberg College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 82% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Muhlenberg College?

Muhlenberg College reports a total enrollment of 1,788 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Muhlenberg College?

The average net price at Muhlenberg College is $30,314 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Muhlenberg College?

Muhlenberg College's yield rate is 13.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Muhlenberg College located?

Muhlenberg College is located in Allentown, Pennsylvania 18104.

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