Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
North Adams, MA
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts, a town within 10 miles of a city, with 713 undergraduates. The arts and interdisciplinary studies are its signature fields: together they make up 22% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times their share across the colleges we cover. 56% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $48,102 ten years after starting.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts admitted 1,425 of 1,543 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (92.4%).
- Acceptance rate
- 92.4%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $12,436
- $21,381 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $16,068
- Average, students with aid
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts is known for
Measured by the 231 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
The arts
11.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Interdisciplinary studies
10.4%
of its bachelor's degrees: three and a half times the 2.9% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations3113.4% of degrees$53,753−21% vs $68,257 nationally
- Psychology2611.3% of degrees$49,826About the $50,706 national median
- Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (other)2410.4% of degrees$47,162−15% vs $55,693 nationally
- Sociology198.2% of degrees$44,136−16% vs $52,657 nationally
- English Language and Literature177.4% of degrees$39,955−18% vs $48,590 nationally
- Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences177.4% of degreesToo few graduates to publish
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Town near a city
North Adams, MA
Undergraduates
713
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Baccalaureate college, arts and sciences focus
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
8 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Three things Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts reports that test scores are not considered at all.
That is the school’s own answer on the form it fills in every year. A score you send is not read as part of the decision here.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
The admit rate rose from 74% to 92% between fall 2018 and fall 2023.
Both ends are measured rates for classes that have already enrolled: a rate that moved, not a forecast. The fall 2023 figure is the one at the top of this page.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2018 to fall 2023
Families paid $16,068 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
92.4%
1,425 admitted of 1,543 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $12,436 ($21,381 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $26,026. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $16,068 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$12,436
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$21,381
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$26,026
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$16,068
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $26,026 full cost.
- Under $30k$9,845Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$10,762Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$13,250Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$15,958Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$22,698Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
56%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
76%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$48,102
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$23,750
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Between fall 2018 and fall 2023 the admit rate rose from 74% to 92%.
What Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Not considered
- Test scores
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Massachusetts
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth92.2%
- Curry College92%
- Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology90.5%
- Lesley University94.4%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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