Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster

Lancaster, PA · Private · 1,280 undergrads · website ↗

Roman Catholic
Test-optional
$35 application fee

This is a regional campus of a university, not a standalone community college. Students here often “transfer” to the main campus, which inflates the rate below relative to a true community college.

Does anyone get out?

The point of starting here is finishing somewhere else. This is how often that happens.

10.9%

of students transfer to a four-year institution

Completed after transferring: not published
Still enrolled after transferring: 6.2%

What it costs

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$37,532
$30,000 – $48,000	$38,376
$48,000 – $75,000	$41,420
$75,000 – $110,000	$44,745
Over $110,000	$47,879
All incomes (average)	$42,478

Sticker tuition and fees: $32,933 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$18,750
Books and supplies	$1,620
Other expenses, off campus	$2,918

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (67 of them) in 2022–23; 88% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	45%	$6,657
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	31%	$4,756
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	10%	$2,114
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	61%	$4,888

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Outcomes

Completion rate: 69%
Students with Pell grants: 55%
Earnings @ 10yr: $86,881
Median debt: $25,500

Admission and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $35
Students per faculty member: 11 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 73%
Open admission: No

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Considered if submitted
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 451
Admitted: 199
Enrolled: 93

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

What students study

Health & Nursing100%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Associate degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	247	$79,547	$88,101national $80,813	$20,000
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	70	$62,672	$71,592national $65,389	$13,000

Undergraduate certificates (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	32	$79,888	$87,103national $57,584	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	6	—	$75,123national $38,675	—

Bachelor's degrees (3)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	127	$87,471	$86,383national $88,910	$23,000
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	14	$47,922	$85,690national $68,245	$23,250
Biology, General	—	$39,693	$82,769national $57,214	$26,816

Master's degrees (2)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Public Health	17	$72,884	—national $82,751	$52,632
Health and Medical Administrative Services	—	$79,656	$86,525national $89,981	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 11 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed. These figures are calculated for all 2 campuses that share this college's federal student-aid ID, so a branch campus shows its institution's figures.

Best transfer rates elsewhere in PA

Lackawanna CollegeScranton27%Manor CollegeJenkintown23.3%Pennsylvania College of TechnologyWilliamsport16.3%

Contact and accreditation

Address: 850 Greenfield Road, Lancaster, PA 17601
Phone: (800) 622-5443
Institutional accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Where would you transfer to?

Find four-year colleges ranked by what they'd cost your family and what graduates earn — then check which of your credits they accept before you commit.

Find four-year matches →

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Transfer rate is the share of entrants transferring to a four-year institution; it is published for roughly a third of community colleges, and a blank means unpublished rather than zero. Which specific credits transfer is set by agreements between individual institutions and is not published nationally — confirm with both colleges before enrolling.

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