Students at College of Our Lady of the Elms benefit from an institution that prioritizes access and support, particularly for first-generation and Pell-eligible students who might struggle elsewhere.
The college's nursing program provides a clear pathway to strong earnings, while the overall environment emphasizes student success over selectivity.
College of Our Lady of the Elms is a small private nonprofit institution in Chicopee, Massachusetts, that focuses on career-oriented programs with strong student support systems. While not highly ranked nationally, the college serves as a "Mobility Engine" by combining broad access with solid outcomes for the students it enrolls. Nearly 42% of students receive Pell Grants and about 35% are first-generation college students, yet the institution maintains a 65% six-year graduation rate that exceeds many expectations for its student population.
The college's strength lies in its specialized professional programs, particularly nursing, which drives much of the institution's economic value for graduates. Adult Health Nursing graduates earn a median of $69,410 ten years after enrollment, significantly higher than the overall institutional median of $51,540. This program concentration helps explain why Elms performs reasonably well on long-term earnings despite its small size and broad-access mission.
As a small Catholic college, Elms offers the intimate campus experience and individualized attention that many students seek, combined with practical career preparation in high-demand fields like healthcare and social services.
College of Our Lady of the Elms centers its academic mission around professional preparation in healthcare and human services fields. The Adult Health Nursing program stands out as both the largest and highest-earning option, graduating 114 students with median earnings of $69,410 ten years after enrollment. This program represents the college's strongest economic value proposition, combining substantial enrollment with earnings that significantly exceed the institutional average.
Social work programs, particularly Forensic Social Work, enroll the second-largest cohort with 46 graduates but show more modest earnings around $35,060, reflecting typical compensation in social services careers. The Speech-Language Pathology program graduates smaller numbers but prepares students for specialized healthcare roles, though early earnings of $23,456 reflect the field's typical requirement for graduate-level training to reach full professional practice.
The program mix reflects Elms' Catholic mission and commitment to service-oriented careers, even when those fields don't always offer the highest financial returns. For students committed to nursing careers, the outcomes are quite strong and justify the investment. Students in other programs should understand that they're choosing meaningful work that serves communities, with financial returns that are stable but more modest than what they might find in business or technology fields.
Graduates of College of Our Lady of the Elms see varied financial outcomes depending heavily on their field of study. The overall median earnings ten years after enrollment is $51,540, which places the institution around the 69th percentile nationally for long-term earnings. However, this figure masks significant variation across programs, with nursing graduates substantially outperforming the institutional average.
The college's highest-return program is Adult Health Nursing, which graduates 114 students and produces median earnings of $69,410 ten years out. This program alone drives much of the institution's economic value, combining high enrollment with strong pay in a field with consistent demand. Social work programs, while popular with 46 graduates, show more modest earnings around $35,060, reflecting the typical compensation patterns in social services careers. Speech-Language Pathology graduates earn around $23,456 early in their careers, though this field often requires additional graduate training for full professional practice.
The concentration in healthcare and human services programs reflects Elms' mission-driven approach to education, preparing students for careers that serve communities even when those fields don't always offer the highest financial returns. For students committed to nursing or healthcare careers, the outcomes are quite strong; for those in other fields, the financial returns are more modest but still represent meaningful career preparation.
College of Our Lady of the Elms maintains relatively consistent net pricing across income levels, which provides predictability for families planning their college investment. Low-income students pay about $18,824 annually, while middle-income families see costs around $18,376 per year. Even high-income families pay $27,882, which represents a more moderate premium compared to many private colleges where high-income net prices can climb much higher.
The institution's affordability profile reflects its commitment to access, with net prices that remain manageable for families across the income spectrum. This pricing structure helps explain why the college attracts a substantial share of Pell-eligible students while maintaining financial sustainability. The relatively modest difference between low- and middle-income net prices suggests that the college's aid strategy focuses on making education accessible rather than creating steep income-based pricing tiers.
Debt levels are moderate but require careful consideration given the institution's earnings outcomes. With typical federal student loan debt around $25,000 and Parent PLUS borrowing averaging about $25,154, families are taking on meaningful financial commitments that need to align with expected career outcomes, particularly for students outside the higher-earning nursing programs.
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