The College of Our Lady of the Elms network
A tiny city where building height is student body size, and each district is better in its own way.
MA
2 colleges with a similar mix of majors, each also teaching health professions, public administration & social service, and computer & information sciences, are the same or better on all of yield, graduation rate, cost. That's fewer than 20: few schools like this one beat it on every count.
See it as a table
| College | Size | Yield | Graduation rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| College of Our Lady of the Elms (your pick) | 1,002 | 11% | 68% | $61,077 |
| Pacific Lutheran University | 2,4462.4× as many undergrads | 14%same | 69%same | $66,837same |
| The College of Saint Scholastica | 1,8101.8× as many undergrads | 17%better | 71%same | $55,730same |
From IPEDS, academic year 2024-25 (sticker prices from the year before where this year's are not out yet). “Similar mix of majors” means close on the degrees students finish, subject by subject, and on how many. Only colleges a student choosing College of Our Lady of the Elms would also weigh are counted: each must award at least 1% of its bachelor's degrees in every one of College of Our Lady of the Elms's 3 largest subjects; a special-focus school (a conservatory, art school, seminary, or the like) is compared only with schools of the same focus; and colleges with a strong religious mission are compared only with each other. Yield and graduation rate count as the same when they are less than 4 points apart; sticker price when it is within 10%. Better cost means cheaper. Sticker price is before financial aid, and for public colleges is the average of the in-state and out-of-state prices.