College Of The Holy Cross

College of the Holy Cross's published cost of attendance is $80,334. Need-based financial aid reshapes that figure across income levels: low-income families pay approximately $14,343, middle-income families pay around $12,682, and higher-income families pay approximately $56,284.

Azimuth ranks College of the Holy Cross #1358 for post-graduation affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Net prices by income band are medians within those bands; individual aid packages vary, so some families in each band pay more and some less than the figures shown.

College of the Holy Cross commits to meeting demonstrated financial need in full for admitted students under current financial aid policies. The aid structure is need-based, with no merit component; families apply using the FAFSA and CSS Profile.

The college participates in federal (Pell Grants, Direct Loans), state, and institutional aid programs to support access across income levels. Median federal student loan debt at graduation is $27,000, and families using Parent PLUS borrow a median of $39,032; private or institutional loans may add further borrowing that falls outside these federal-only figures — see the [Parent PLUS risk framework](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) for how household context shapes PLUS decisions.

For a graduate at the institution's median four-year earnings of $84,553, median federal debt of $27,000 projects to a monthly payment of about $305 under standard ten-year repayment. For personalized projections across earnings scenarios — including Parent PLUS planning — use [Azimuth's Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Graduates of College of the Holy Cross earn median 4-year earnings of $84,553, placing College of the Holy Cross in the 87.6 percentile for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the $67,139 median at comparable institutions (same control and size band).

Graduates also [earn beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/) compared with similar students at other institutions, and Azimuth ranks College of the Holy Cross #118 for return on investment among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings pattern at College of the Holy Cross reflects its concentration in Social Sciences and related analytical fields.

Social Sciences accounts for 29% of degrees, with other STEM fields at 5% and Arts at 4%, a mix that channels graduates into finance, consulting, law, and public-sector roles where earnings tend to grow steadily over the early career. Economics stands out as the program combining strong cohort scale with the highest aggregate earnings contribution to the institution's overall return profile.

Among the top programs by earnings, Psychology, General program graduates 132 students with median four-year earnings of $74,095, and Azimuth ranks Psychology, General #4 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions [per the program-ranking methodology](/analysis/college-program-rankings-how-to-actually-evaluate-programs/). Economics follows with 128 graduates earning $118,131, and Azimuth ranks Economics #30 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Political Science and American History (United States) round out the upper tier, with graduates earning $88,088 and $72,423 respectively at the four-year mark, reflecting the breadth of high-return pathways available within College of the Holy Cross's liberal arts framework.

College of the Holy Cross's program mix is anchored in Social Sciences, a signature consistent with the college's liberal arts identity and its emphasis on analytical, humanistic, and policy-oriented fields. The three largest program families by graduate share are Social Sciences (29%), other STEM fields (5%), and Arts (4%), a distribution that places College of the Holy Cross closer to peer liberal arts colleges with strong humanities and social-science concentrations than to engineering-heavy research universities.

Across 26 programs serving roughly 930 students annually, 13 meet Azimuth's ranking threshold. The program with the highest aggregate return — combining cohort scale with strong median earnings — is Economics, which functions as a key economic anchor for the college's degree output.

Among the most popular programs, Psychology, General program graduates 132 students with median earnings of $74,095 four years after enrollment; Azimuth ranks it #4 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Economics and Political Science follow in scale, with graduates earning $118,131 and $88,088 respectively at the four-year mark, reflecting the college's strength in fields that feed into finance, consulting, law, and public-sector careers.

The highest-earning programs at College of the Holy Cross are Economics, Mathematics, and Biology, General, with graduates earning median earnings of $118,131, $96,927, and $92,914 four years after enrollment; Azimuth ranks Economics #30 for median earnings four years after enrollment among nonprofit four-year institutions. Several of these high-earning pathways — particularly those in economics, mathematics, and quantitative social sciences — are also grad-school-dependent in part, meaning four-year earnings undercount the long-run trajectory for graduates who continue to law school, MBA programs, or doctoral study.

The [supply and demand for college graduates](/analysis/supply-demand-map-college-degrees/) provides context for how these program families align with national labor-market trends.