BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Wellesley College

Wellesley, Massachusetts·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·New England·wellesley.edu
6-yr Graduation
92%
+12.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
2,407
peer median 2,220
Avg net price
$25,008
-$2.3k vs Baccalaureate
Use this data
Ask Clema

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
8,714
8,714 candidates competed
Admitted
1,224
14.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
583
47.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
92%+12.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
78%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
92%
Full-time retention
96%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
92%
Non-Pell
91%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

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

Of 40 Title IV programs, 8 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 32 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
40
Passing
8
20.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

40programs
  • Passing8 · 20.0%
  • No Data32 · 80.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
8
No data
32

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.

8
Research and Experimental Psychology
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+50.9%
$52,538 vs $34,808
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+67.4%
$58,285 vs $34,808
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+72.0%
$59,865 vs $34,808
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+86.8%
$65,036 vs $34,808
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+109.2%
$72,830 vs $34,808
Computer Software and Media Applications
Bachelor Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
+183.9%
$98,816 vs $34,808
Economics
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+249.9%
$121,787 vs $34,808
Computer and Information Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
+409.1%
$177,213 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

8
Research and Experimental Psychology
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
22%
$11,565 debt · $52,538 earn
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
17%
$9,600 debt · $58,285 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
17%
$9,850 debt · $59,865 earn
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
15%
$10,000 debt · $65,036 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
15%
$10,617 debt · $72,830 earn
Computer Software and Media Applications
Bachelor Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
11%
$11,100 debt · $98,816 earn
Economics
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
10%
$12,337 debt · $121,787 earn
Computer and Information Sciences General
Bachelor Degree · Computer And Information Sciences And Support Services
7%
$11,700 debt · $177,213 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

New England Commission of Higher Education

Accredited since 1929Next review Dec 2029

Action history · 2

  1. Sep 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    New England Commission of Higher Education
  2. Nov 2009Renewal 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$5,695
$30–48k$634
$48–75k$15,511
$75–110k$24,314
$110k+$50,305

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

Avg net price (private)
$25,008
-$2,277vs Baccalaureate median $27,285
Federal loans
17.1%
In-state tuition
$64,320
Out-of-state
$64,320

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 604 students received $3.8M in Pell grants, alongside $4.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
604
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.8M
$3,787,404 total
Direct Loans
$4.9M
557 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

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

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.2M
304 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$686K
162 loan awards
Parent PLUS$3.0M
91 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 240 borrowers who entered repayment, 1 (0.4%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.4%
-1.9pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
240
Defaulted
1
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.3%
2017
1.5%
2018
0.6%
2019
0.4%
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 Wellesley College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs57
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

660 total completions
01Social Sciences
17226.1%
02Biological Sciences
9113.8%
03Computer Sciences
8813.3%
04Psychology
7311.1%
05Physical Sciences
487.3%
06Multi/Interdisciplinary
436.5%
07Area/Ethnic Studies
426.4%
08Foreign Languages
416.2%
09Visual/Performing Arts
345.2%
10English Language
284.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
2,407
12-mo unduplicated
2,503
Undergraduate
2,503
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
2%58
Women
98%2,445

Race / ethnicity composition

White
30.5%
Asian
23.6%
Hispanic
15.9%
Non-resident
13.9%
Black
8.5%
Two or more
7.0%
Unknown
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
1.63
4 offenses · 2,447 students

3-year trend

0.882 yrs ago1.221 yr ago1.63Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
9
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
9
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
2

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
4

By location

4total
  • On campus2
  • Public property2

Includes 2 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
4
Stalking
4 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor02

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
7.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
322

Wellesley College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Wellesley 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
SubjectWellesley College
92%2,407$25,008Baccalaureate
Mount Holyoke College
84%36.0%2,275$29,562Baccalaureate
Williams College
94%8.3%2,164$14,852Baccalaureate
Stonehill College
76%66.3%2,674$29,969Baccalaureate
Emmanuel College
68%75.7%1,983$31,569Baccalaureate
Gordon College
69%69.2%1,595$24,817Baccalaureate
Peer group median80%66.3%2,220$27,285

Frequently asked questions about Wellesley College

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

What is the graduation rate at Wellesley College?

Wellesley College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 92% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Wellesley College?

Wellesley College reports a total enrollment of 2,407 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Wellesley College?

The average net price at Wellesley College is $25,008 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Wellesley College?

Wellesley College's yield rate is 47.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Wellesley College located?

Wellesley College is located in Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481-8203.

Have a question this page can’t answer?

Ask Clema anything about Wellesley College and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.

Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card