Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, California
- Private nonprofit
- Suburb
- 1,388 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 10%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $26,039per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 91%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $127,53210 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Four nights a week during the school year, the Athenaeum brings scholars, public figures and artists to campus to engage with students.
Every Claremont McKenna student completes a senior thesis, the final general education requirement.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 10%About 1 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1470–1560Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 33–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Claremont McKenna College's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
- Admit rate in this report
- 9%655 admitted of 6,939 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 22%216 admitted of 978. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- Off the wait list
- 13%61 admitted of 469 who stayed on the wait list (711 were offered a spot)
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1480–154034% of first-years sent SAT scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 33–3514% of first-years sent ACT scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 64%94% were in the top quarter.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- Interview
- A talent or ability
Considered
- Class rank
- Test scores
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Where you live
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Living in the state
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Claremont McKenna College's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Claremont McKenna College Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $26,039full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $91,510sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $72,120Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 91%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 98%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $127,53210 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,450federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 1,388Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 18%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- Not reportedparents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Pitzer College Claremont, CA — admits 25%
- Scripps College Claremont, CA — admits 38%
- Occidental College Los Angeles, CA — admits 44%
- Art Center College of Design Pasadena, CA — admits 75%
Also worth a look
- Pomona College Claremont, CA — admits 7%
- Bates College Lewiston, ME — admits 13%
- Hamilton College Clinton, NY — admits 14%
- Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA — admits 14%
- Haverford College Haverford, PA — admits 12%
- Northeastern University Oakland Oakland, CA — admits 17%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Claremont McKenna College, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.