College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Wellesley College

MAMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #237 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Wellesley College #237 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Wellesley College is a private nonprofit university in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences and Biological Sciences. Return is well above average.

Graduates earn above the median at comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings picture is not diluted by a large share still in school.

The price case turns on income. Aid covers most of the published cost for the average aid recipient, and the lowest income band pays very little out of pocket.

Pell students complete at a rate nearly identical to the overall cohort. The admission rate is well below the median for comparable institutions.

A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

Wellesley College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
14.1%
Six-year completion[2]
91.5%
Four-year earnings[3]
$72,449

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$6,587
Median student debt[4]
$10,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$38,825

Wellesley College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Wellesley College is a private nonprofit university in Wellesley, Massachusetts, enrolling 2,300 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the top fifth of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (84th percentile).

The college admits 14.1% of applicants, well below the peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 96.5% return for a second year, and 91.5% finish within six years.

The peer medians are 83.4% for retention and 68.8% for completion. An estimated 2.5% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes nearly the entire entering class.

The four sit close together, with return the strongest and affordability the weakest. Access and mobility fall between them.

The shape is a selective private college where outcomes are strong across the board, with no pillar pulling far ahead or falling far behind.

Azimuth evaluates Wellesley College across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. Return is the strongest, in the 86th percentile.

Access and mobility sit close together, in the 73rd and 72nd percentiles respectively. Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 65th percentile.

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

Wellesley College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#237
Massachusetts#13
Northeast#57

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 72
Access & reach
National percentile: 73
Affordability
National percentile: 65
Return on investment
National percentile: 86

Top-ranked majors

  1. Computer and Information Sciences, General#7
  2. Economics#23
  3. Research and Experimental Psychology#30

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Wellesley College briefing

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

Wellesley College publishes a cost of attendance of $86,290 (an average across living arrangements) for the standard undergraduate budget. That total includes tuition and fees of $67,176 and room and board of $21,024.

The average net price measures what aided families actually pay after grants and scholarships. For aid recipients here, the is $25,496.

Grants and scholarships cut the sticker price by $60,794 for a typical aided student, covering about 70% of the published cost. The remaining share is what families pay out of pocket.

That average net price is $1,875 below the $27,371 median at comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the college #499 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 65th percentile.

The published cost of attendance at Wellesley College is $86,290 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #499 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $2,546, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $6,587, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $54,188. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $51,642.

Aid covers about 70% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $25,496, which is $1,875 below the median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $10,000 in federal student loans. That is $14,199 below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions.

67.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $38,825.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $114 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$6,587

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Wellesley College

Federal borrowing is common at Wellesley College: 67.2% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, the median federal student debt is $10,000.

That median is $14,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $114 a month.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $38,825. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 37% of its 555 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $12,364 per borrower.

Of those graduates, 29% held federal loans, including an average of $6,061 per borrower. A smaller share, 5%, held private loans, averaging $56,851.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,449, placing them at the 79th percentile nationally. That is $4,199 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $50,231 on the downside to $137,007 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $72,449. Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $10,000 in federal loans, $14,199 below the peer median of $24,199.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $114 a month. The return picture is one of earnings that clear the peer benchmark and debt that stays $14,199 below the peer median.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $38,825. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $114 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$10,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$38,825

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$114/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$493/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 / Wellesley College briefing

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

The return pillar at Wellesley College sits at the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That position rests on median earnings of $72,449 four years after completion, which is $4,199 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, show the range that field of study can open up. The downside earnings scenario is $50,231, the typical scenario is $72,449, and the upside scenario reaches $137,007.

The spread between the downside and the upside is wide, reflecting the difference between the lowest-earning large program, Research and Experimental Psychology at $52,538, and the highest-earning, Computer and Information Sciences at $177,213. An estimated 40.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

That share means four-year earnings figures capture the early-career picture for most graduates but not the full return for those who pursue advanced degrees.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Wellesley College who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,449, from a cohort of 403. That figure is $4,199 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, show a wide range.

The typical earnings scenario is $72,449, with a downside of $50,231 and an upside of $137,007. The spread between the downside and upside scenarios captures the difference between the university's lower- and higher-earning program clusters.

An estimated 40.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix. This estimate suggests that a substantial share of students pursue further education.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $72,449, at the 79th percentile. That is $4,199 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks Wellesley College #202 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings picture shifts with the field of study, spanning the social sciences, biological sciences, and computer and information sciences.

Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $50,231, while the upside scenario reaches $137,007. An estimated 40.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios show a wide spread: from $50,231 on the downside to $137,007 on the upside. Program choice largely accounts for that range.

At the higher end, Computer and Information Sciences graduates earn $177,213 four years after completion, from 57 degrees awarded a year. Economics follows at $121,787, with 92 degrees awarded.

Computer Software and Media Applications graduates earn $98,816, from a smaller cohort of 22 degrees.

The published cost of attendance is $86,290 (an average across living arrangements), but aid covers about 70% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients in the lowest income band pay $2,546 on average, while those in the highest band pay $54,188.

The spread between the two ends is $51,642. Borrowers who finish leave with a median of $10,000 in federal student loans.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $114 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $38,825 in Parent PLUS loans.

The median debt sits $14,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Wellesley College briefing

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

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 8,506 first-year applicants and 1,258 admitted applicants, with 576 enrolling. The federal admission rate is 14.1%, well below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
14.1%
25th percentile
1460
Median
1500
75th percentile
1540

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Wellesley College briefing

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

The highest-earning program at Wellesley College is Computer and Information Sciences, where graduates earn a median of $177,213 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #7 nationally in its field, from 57 degrees awarded a year.

The largest program is Economics, with 92 degrees awarded and median earnings of $121,787. Azimuth ranks it #23 nationally in its field.

At the more moderate end, Research and Experimental Psychology awards 38 degrees a year. Graduates earn $52,538, and Azimuth ranks the program #30 nationally in its field.

Political Science awards 42 degrees a year with median earnings of $72,830, ranking #51 nationally.

Five programs at Wellesley College carry an Azimuth national rank. The largest of them span the social sciences, computing, and the life sciences, and their earnings four years after completion range from about $52,538 to nearly $177,213.

Economics is the largest, with 92 degrees awarded and median earnings of $121,787. Azimuth ranks it #23 nationally within its field.

Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-earning program on campus, at $177,213, from 57 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #7 nationally.

Political Science and Research and Experimental Psychology round out the largest fields, with 42 and 38 degrees awarded, earnings of $72,830 and $52,538, and national ranks of #51 and #30 respectively.

Wellesley College awards degrees across 5 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 8 with published four-year earnings data. Social Sciences is the largest program family, accounting for 25.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Biological Sciences at 11.1% and Computer & Information Sciences at 11.0%.

The largest single program is Economics, at 92 degrees awarded a year, with Computer and Information Sciences second at 57 and Political Science third at 42. Computer and Information Sciences is the highest-ranked program, with median earnings of $177,213 four years after completion.

It ranks #1 in Massachusetts within its field and carries a benchmark ratio of 1.92x against the national median for its field. Economics, the largest program, earns a median of $121,787 and ranks #23 nationally within its field.

Research and Experimental Psychology is a smaller program at 38 degrees awarded, with median earnings of $52,538 four years after completion, and Azimuth ranks it #30 nationally and #5 in Massachusetts within its field. The pattern is one of concentrated strength: the highest-ranked and highest-earning programs are also among the largest.

The social sciences family that awards the most degrees includes programs with strong national ranks. Four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Economics 92 degrees awarded
$121,787
Computer and Information Sciences, General 57 degrees awarded
$177,213
Political Science and Government 42 degrees awarded
$72,830
Research and Experimental Psychology 38 degrees awarded
$52,538
Neurobiology and Neurosciences 35 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Biology, General 29 degrees awarded
$58,285

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 / Wellesley College briefing

What colleges are similar to Wellesley 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 Wellesley College.

Admissions peerTufts University11.5% admitted
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeTufts University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$97,474+$25,025 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$39,998+$14,502 vs Wellesley College · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%11.5%
Explore Tufts University →
Higher-admission alternativeAmerican International College99.6% admitted
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeAmerican International College
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$71,565-$884 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$23,274-$2,222 vs Wellesley College · lower cost
Admission rate14.1%99.6%
Nearby alternativeBrandeis UniversityNearby option · MA
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeBrandeis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$76,742+$4,293 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$35,736+$10,240 vs Wellesley College · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%40.5%
Explore Brandeis University →
Higher-earnings alternativeBrown University$94,678 earnings
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeBrown University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$94,678+$22,229 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$25,184-$312 vs Wellesley College · lower cost
Admission rate14.1%5.4%
Explore Brown University →
Lower-cost alternativeWorcester State University$13,381 average net price
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeWorcester State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$63,801-$8,648 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$13,381-$12,115 vs Wellesley College · lower cost
Admission rate14.1%88.0%
Explore Worcester State University →
Similar profileGettysburg CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Wellesley College
MeasureWellesley CollegeGettysburg College
Peer earnings · 4 years$72,449$72,658+$209 vs Wellesley College
Average annual net price$25,496$31,490+$5,994 vs Wellesley College · higher cost
Admission rate14.1%38.9%

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 uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. 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