10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$13,284at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA · 5 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 5 · Federal debt reported for 1
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Positive payoff
+$13,284 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
9.5 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
+5%Estimated return after 10 years
$73,588Observed earnings · year 5
$26,470Highest annual price before payoff reaches $0
The price benchmark is $3,321 per year below this threshold.
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
PUBLISHED STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price+$105,880
$8,000Annual price+$73,880
$16,000Annual price+$41,880
$23,000Current college-wide context+$13,880
$24,000Current college-wide context+$9,880
$32,000Annual price−$22,120
$40,000Annual price−$54,120
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Attendance format is not fully reported.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college, not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- Suburban
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in Pennsylvania run 2% below the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$23,149Average net price / year
$84,103Cost of attendance
$17,500Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$186/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$73,588Median earnings · year 5 after completion
92.3%Completion rate
7.5%Admission rate
1,534Average SAT score
34ACT midpoint
1,613Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Swarthmore College
What does Swarthmore College cost?
Swarthmore College reports an average annual net price of $23,149 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do Swarthmore College graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $73,588 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Swarthmore College graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $17,500. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Swarthmore College worth the same?
No. The current release contains 5 field-and-degree records for Swarthmore College; 5 report year-4 earnings and 1 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
1,717Students enrolled at any point
1,717Undergraduate students
Not availableGraduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
95% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
72 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
Three-year repayment not reportedStudent family incomeMedian earnings after 10 yearsObserved federal cohorts
Lower income$65,818Earnings are not a guarantee
Middle income$82,090Earnings are not a guarantee
Higher income$89,847Earnings are not a guarantee
Three-year repayment progress
Lower incomeNot reported
Middle incomeNot reported
Higher income88%
Undergraduate student composition
White30%
Black9%
Hispanic16%
Asian17%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use every reportable field-and-credential record at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$43,698Year 1
$65,618Year 4
$73,588Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Your choice of degree can change the payoff.
Graduate earnings differ by field and credential, even within the same college.
1Computer and Information Sciences, General · Bachelor's Degree$150,9422Economics · Bachelor's Degree$128,0513Engineering, General · Bachelor's Degree$78,5194Political Science and Government · Bachelor's Degree$58,3725Biology, General · Bachelor's Degree$57,754Observed year-4 earnings · compare the same field and credential across colleges
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential, not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Computer and Information Sciences, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $150,942 reported+63%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt2EconomicsBachelor's Degree · $128,051 reported+55%vs same-degree national median$19,500federal debt3Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $57,754 reported+1%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree · $58,372 reported-8%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Engineering, GeneralBachelor's Degree · $78,519 reported-12%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in PA
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
New Castle, PA
UPMC Jameson School of Nursing
- Annual net price
- $22,889
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $71,909
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -1%
Heritage Valley Health System School of Nursing
- Annual net price
- $23,656
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $78,334
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +21%
Reading Hospital School of Health Sciences
- Annual net price
- $28,415
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $72,868
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -5%
La Salle University
- Annual net price
- $19,409
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $71,334
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +2%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 5 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | Bachelor's Degree | $150,942 | Not available | Not reported |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $128,051 | $19,500 | Not reported |
| Engineering, General | Bachelor's Degree | $78,519 | Not available | Not reported |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's Degree | $58,372 | Not available | Not reported |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $57,754 | Not available | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.