College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Oberlin College

OHMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1261 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Oberlin College #1,261 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Oberlin College is a private nonprofit university in Ohio whose degree mix is led by the arts and social sciences, and whose strongest is mobility, at around the average. Graduates earn below the median at comparable institutions, and return is around the average.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings figure captures most of the class. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, the weakest of the four pillars.

The lowest income band pays well under the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate above the overall cohort, so the access picture is mixed: a small Pell share alongside a completion rate that holds even.

The admission rate is well below the median for comparable institutions. A student drawn to the arts or social sciences should go in knowing that the largest programs are not the best-paid ones. The return picture depends heavily on which field you choose.

Oberlin College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
34.2%
Six-year completion[2]
80.9%
Four-year earnings[3]
$51,715

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$22,123
Median student debt[4]
$26,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$45,976

Oberlin College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Oberlin College is a private nonprofit university in Oberlin, Ohio, enrolling 2,887 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits near the bottom of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (14th percentile).

The university admits 34.2% of applicants, a rate that is considerably more selective than the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 91.0% return for a second year and 80.9% finish within six years.

Both figures run above the medians for comparable institutions, which are 83.4% for retention and 68.8% for completion. An estimated 3.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the experience of the large majority who begin here.

The four pillars are spread wide, with mobility, return and access clustered together and affordability sitting far below them. Mobility is the strongest pillar (49th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (4th percentile). Return and access sit between them (47th and 33rd percentiles).

Azimuth ranks Oberlin College #1,261 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, with its strongest pillar being mobility, in the 49th percentile. The return pillar sits in the 47th percentile, and access in the 33rd percentile. Affordability is the weakest pillar, landing in the 4th percentile.

Oberlin College, a private nonprofit university in Oberlin, Ohio, admits 34.2% of applicants, a rate that is well below the median for comparable institutions, which stands at 71.2%. The college enrolls 2,887 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 9.6% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 3.8% of students enter as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth ranks Oberlin College #984 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The access pillar reflects the scale and socioeconomic composition of the undergraduate population alongside completion metrics. The college retains 91.0% of its first-year students.

Its six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 80.9%, and Pell Grant recipients complete at a rate of 81.0%, which sits 0.1 percentage points above the overall rate. Azimuth ranks Oberlin College #746 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The mobility pillar measures the combination of completion rates and the number of students served. Here, strong completion figures coincide with a relatively small undergraduate enrollment.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Oberlin College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,261

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 49
Access & reach
National percentile: 33
Affordability
National percentile: 4
Return on investment
National percentile: 47

01 / Oberlin College briefing

Oberlin College cost & financial aid[6][7]

Oberlin College publishes a cost of attendance of $87,404, a sticker price that aid reduces substantially for recipients. Tuition and fees are $67,366 and room and board are $19,510.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported required fees of $1,142 and on-campus food and housing of $20,096. At the university, the average net price is $38,645, with aid covering about 56% of the published cost and reducing the sticker by $48,759 on average.

That net price is $11,274 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #1,353 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That places the affordability pillar in the 4th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Affordability is the weakest of the four pillars at the university.

Oberlin College publishes a cost of attendance of $87,404, with tuition and fees at $67,366 and room and board at $19,510. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $18,774; for those in the $30,001–$48,000 band, it is $15,799; for the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $22,123; for the $75,001–$110,000 band, it is $29,207; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $48,731.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $29,957. Azimuth ranks Oberlin College #1,353 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $48,759 against the sticker price. The across all aid recipients is $38,645, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $11,274.

The median federal student debt at completion is $26,000. That debt is above the peer median of $24,199 by $1,801, and 95.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years for the median federal debt is $295. Parents who borrow through Parent PLUS carry a separate median of $45,976.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$22,123

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Oberlin College

Federal borrowing reaches 95.0% of federal aid recipients at Oberlin College. Among those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $26,000.

That median is $1,801 above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $45,976.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 43% of graduates in a cohort of 710 borrowed from any source. The average cumulative debt was $28,452 per borrower. Of those graduates, 37% held federal loans, averaging $22,795.

Four years after completing a degree at Oberlin College, graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,715. That figure falls in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That median is below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $16,535. Earnings scenarios derived from the college's program mix show a downside scenario of $43,448 and an upside scenario of $86,772.

Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median federal debt of $26,000, which is above the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,801. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $45,976. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $295.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$26,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$45,976

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$295/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$584/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Oberlin College briefing

Oberlin College career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of Oberlin College earn a median of $51,715 four years after completing a degree, which is $16,535 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That places the median in the 22nd percentile nationally.

Azimuth ranks the return pillar at the 47th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The return picture is mixed: earnings sit below the peer median, and the pillar's position is near the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,715 at Oberlin College. That is $16,535 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the figure in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort is 346 completers. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix put the typical figure at $51,715, with a downside scenario of $43,448 and an upside scenario of $86,772.

The spread between the downside and upside is wide. An estimated 40.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

That share means a large portion of the graduating class is likely pursuing further education rather than full-time work at the four-year mark.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Oberlin College who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $51,715, at the 22nd percentile nationally. That figure is $16,535 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #784 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios, which are grounded in the program mix rather than observed groups, show a range from a downside of $43,448 to an upside of $86,772, with the typical scenario at $51,715.

An estimated 40.1% of graduates continue to graduate study. That figure is estimated from the program mix, which means a large share of completers are not captured in the four-year earnings snapshot.

The earnings picture is shaped by the fields the college awards degrees in. The largest programs are in the arts and sciences, where four-year earnings are often lower, while the highest-paid graduates come from a smaller technical field.

The gap between the school-wide median and the median for comparable institutions coincides with a program mix weighted toward fields where four-year earnings are typically lower. It also coincides with a substantial share of graduates who go on to further study.

Earnings four years after completion vary widely by field at Oberlin College. The earnings scenarios span from a downside of $43,448 to an upside of $86,772, with the typical scenario at $51,715.

That spread reflects the range of outcomes across the college's 11 programs with published data. The highest-earning programs show the upper end: Computer and Information Sciences completers earn a median of $129,395, Economics completers earn $87,120, and Political Science completers earn $70,689.

The published cost of attendance at Oberlin College is $87,404, and aid covers about 56% of that for the average aid recipient. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $38,645, which is $11,274 above the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Net prices by income band show a spread of $29,957 between the lowest and highest bands. Aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 average $18,774, while those earning over $110,000 average $48,731.

Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $26,000 in federal student loans, $1,801 above the $24,199 peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $45,976 in Parent PLUS loans.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Oberlin College briefing

Oberlin College acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Oberlin College admits 34.2% of applicants, a rate well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 11,738 applicants, 3,873 admitted students, and 768 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
34.2%
25th percentile
1370
Median
1420
75th percentile
1480

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Oberlin College briefing

What are the largest majors at Oberlin College?[12]

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning bachelor's program at Oberlin College, with a median of $129,395 four years after completion on 44 degrees awarded. Economics is the next highest, with a median of $87,120 on 54 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Music, awarded 140 degrees and shows a median of $43,343. Psychology reaches $48,109 on 68 degrees awarded.

Both programs sit below the top-earning fields. The spread between the highest-earning and largest programs shows that earnings vary widely by field at the college.

Oberlin College publishes earnings data for 11 bachelor's programs, and the figures show a wide spread between the largest fields and the highest earners. The largest program, Music, awarded 140 degrees and shows a median of $43,343 four years after completion.

Biology follows with 78 degrees awarded and a median of $44,095, while Psychology awarded 68 degrees and reports a median of $48,109. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, where completers earn a median of $129,395 four years after finishing.

Economics is the second-highest earner, with a median of $87,120 and 54 degrees awarded. The spread between the top-earning program and the largest program is wide, reflecting considerable variation by field.

The program mix at Oberlin College is led by the arts. Visual & Performing Arts accounts for 23.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, well ahead of Social Sciences at 13.5% and Biological Sciences at 13.2%.

The college awards bachelor's degrees across 11 programs with published four-year earnings data, and the largest by degrees awarded are Music at 140, Biology at 78, and Psychology at 68. The highest-earning program is Computer and Information Sciences, where graduates earn a median of $129,395 four years after completion, from 44 degrees awarded a year.

That is a benchmark ratio of 1.40x against the national median for its field. Economics, at 54 degrees awarded a year, is the second-highest earner at $87,120.

Political Science follows at $70,689 from 36 degrees awarded, and History at $60,895 from 29 degrees awarded. The pattern is one of concentration in fields where earnings often trail the national median, with a smaller pocket of high-earning programs in computing and economics.

The largest program, Music, has a benchmark ratio of 1.01x, while Biology and Psychology sit at 0.77x and 0.95x respectively.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Music 140 degrees awarded
$43,343
Biology, General 78 degrees awarded
$44,095
Psychology, General 68 degrees awarded
$48,109
Economics 54 degrees awarded
$87,120
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 49 degrees awarded
$46,580
Computer and Information Sciences, General 44 degrees awarded
$129,395

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Oberlin College briefing

How does Oberlin College serve students from different backgrounds?

The mobility pillar at Oberlin College rests on completion rates that outpace the peer median and a Pell completion rate that tracks the overall first-time full-time cohort. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 80.9%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 81.0%, a figure that sits above the overall rate by 0.1 percentage points. Both rates clear the peer median of 68.8%, which means the college delivers strong completion for its students broadly and for Pell recipients in particular.

Oberlin College enrolls 2,887 undergraduates and admits 34.2% of applicants, a rate well below the peer median of 71.2% for comparable private nonprofit universities. 9.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants, a financial-access measure, and an estimated 3.8% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Oberlin College in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The college's admission rate and Pell share together place it among the more selective and less broadly accessible institutions among nonprofit four-year institutions.

06 / Oberlin College briefing

What colleges are similar to Oberlin College?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Oberlin College.

Admissions peerKenyon College31.0% admitted
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeKenyon College
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$57,786+$6,071 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$38,512-$133 vs Oberlin College · lower cost
Admission rate34.2%31.0%
Explore Kenyon College →
Higher-admission alternativeCollege for Creative Studies91.9% admitted
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeCollege for Creative Studies
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$47,659-$4,056 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$34,617-$4,028 vs Oberlin College · lower cost
Admission rate34.2%91.9%
Nearby alternativeCleveland Institute of ArtNearby option · OH
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeCleveland Institute of Art
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$41,829-$9,886 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$29,208-$9,437 vs Oberlin College · lower cost
Admission rate34.2%61.4%
Higher-earnings alternativeCase Western Reserve University$94,237 earnings
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeCase Western Reserve University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$94,237+$42,522 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$41,190+$2,545 vs Oberlin College · higher cost
Admission rate34.2%36.5%
Explore Case Western Reserve University →
Lower-cost alternativeYoungstown State University$12,767 average net price
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeYoungstown State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$56,047+$4,332 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$12,767-$25,878 vs Oberlin College · lower cost
Admission rate34.2%84.5%
Explore Youngstown State University →
Similar profileFranciscan University of SteubenvilleMatched across several measures
Comparison with Oberlin College
MeasureOberlin CollegeFranciscan University of Steubenville
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,715$49,762-$1,953 vs Oberlin College
Average annual net price$38,645$23,589-$15,056 vs Oberlin College · lower cost
Admission rate34.2%58.4%

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings