Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $75,525 ten years after enrolling, more than at 88% of colleges; 91% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 2.7 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$16.8K
According to Carleton College's most recent Common Data Set, 35% of its Class of 2025 graduates (505 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $21,075 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
91 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 7 more are enrolled at another college. (568 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
88 of 100 finish within 4 years, 91 within 6, and 91 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 88% | 91% | 91% |
| Started in college here | 88% | 91% | 91% |
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 88%, 2 points below students with no need-based federal aid (90%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients67 students
88% · 2 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant88 students
91% · 1 point above students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan374 students
90% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White304 students
88% · 1 point below all students
- Asian55 students
91% · 1 point above all students
- Hispanic/Latino50 students
94% · 4 points above all students
- Black20 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Two or more races40 students
95% · 5 points above all students
- International57 students
91% · 2 points above all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native2 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Carleton College. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;Carleton College Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Carleton College Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)