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🎓 College profile

Saint Mary's College of California

CA · Private nonprofit · Large suburb · 4,308 applicants 2023

89% admit rate $40,581/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The 6× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$77,659/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$30,378/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~6× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at Saint Mary's College of California Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Saint Mary's College of California starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

  • Students focused on Business, Management, & Marketing (the school's signature program)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience
  • A long-term payoff that holds even at full price — median 10-yr earnings of $78,812 return ~2.5× the ~$77,659/yr sticker over a decade (aid recipients average ~$30,378/yr)

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
M1: Master's - Larger Programs
Total enrollment
1,947
1,000 - 4,999
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$57,803
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
88.6%
Accepts the majority
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$78,812
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
$60,388
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$78,812
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
70%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$23,691

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $40,581/yr at Saint Mary's College of California; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$77,659/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Saint Mary's College of California's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$40,581/yr
Family income $75-110k
$29,049/yr
Family income $48-75k
$23,303/yr
Family income $30-48k
$20,127/yr
Family income $0-30k
$19,462/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

2.5× at full price 6.5× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs)
$310,636
~$77,659/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$121,512
$30,378/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$788,120
$78,812/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
3.9 yrs
at full price (1.5 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Saint Mary's College of California

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
128 degrees · 40.3%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Psychology
53 degrees · 16.7%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
3. Social Sciences
52 degrees · 16.4%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.
4. Liberal Arts, Humanities, & General Studies
46 degrees · 14.5%
Flexible degree → many paths. Real outcomes depend on the second skill (data, coding, teaching cert).
5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
39 degrees · 12.3%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Saint Mary's College of California's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 19 $66,628 $107,570
Business/Commerce, General. Bachelor's Degree 148 $46,958 $80,262
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 40 $28,018 $70,123
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities. Bachelor's Degree 64 $56,094 $68,501
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 37 $34,444 $66,265
Communication and Media Studies. Bachelor's Degree 36 $35,356 $64,456
Political Science and Government. Bachelor's Degree 25 $45,296 $62,651
English Language and Literature, General. Bachelor's Degree 27 — $57,651

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
5.9%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
2.9%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
43.7%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
27%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Saint Mary's College of California

CS degrees (annual)
2
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Saint Mary's College of California

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama at Birmingham
AL · Public
17 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Louisville
KY · Public
13 stats-based + 6 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $65,822 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $63,703 less before aid
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $63,670 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt
CA · Public
99% admit rate (vs 89% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Saint Mary's College of California does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
California State University-Los Angeles
CA · Public
9.9% mobility rate (vs 2.9% here)
Pace University
NY · Private nonprofit
8.4% mobility rate (vs 2.9% here)
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
8.3% mobility rate (vs 2.9% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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