🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students focused on Health Professions (the school's signature program)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Total enrollment
771
Under 1,000
In-state tuition
$19,125
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$19,125
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
90.0%
Accepts the majority
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$46,474
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$37,935
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$46,474
4-year completion
57%
Median debt (completers)
$27,000
Cost of attendance
$38,527
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
23%

💰 True ROI

4.2× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$109,724
$27,431/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$44,384
vs sticker $154,108
10-yr earnings total
$464,740
$46,474/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
2.4 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Colby-Sawyer College, the average net price is $27,431/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$22,456/yr
Family income $30-48k
$19,687/yr
Family income $48-75k
$24,437/yr
Family income $75-110k
$27,412/yr
Family income $110k+
$29,679/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Colby-Sawyer College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Colby-Sawyer College →

Opens on Colby-Sawyer College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Colby-Sawyer College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Colby-Sawyer College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Health Professions
97 degrees · 57.7%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
2. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
22 degrees · 13.1%
Typical career outcomes
Athletic Trainer $58k Fitness Trainer / Coach $46k Recreation Director $65k
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.
3. Business, Management, & Marketing
20 degrees · 11.9%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
4. Psychology
15 degrees · 8.9%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
14 degrees · 8.3%
Typical career outcomes
Biological Scientist $87k Medical & Clinical Lab Tech $61k Pharmaceutical Rep $82k Physician (post-MD) $239k
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Colby-Sawyer College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 40 $78,856 $82,803
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 14 $54,304 $68,502
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 14 $56,533
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 15 $30,804 $55,024
Natural Resources Conservation and Research. Bachelor's Degree 7 $47,114
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 19 $45,783

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Colby-Sawyer College vs. another college

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