Private Nonprofit Graduate Good 61/100

Lewis & Clark College

See admissions data, costs, student outcomes, and academic programs, all verified from official US government sources.

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Portland, Oregon

About Lewis & Clark College

Thinking about Lewis & Clark College, a college in Oregon where more students graduate in Legal Studies than anything else? The four things worth knowing are what it actually costs after aid, whether you would get in, whether students finish, and what they earn after they do.

Lewis & Clark College is a private nonprofit institution offering graduate degrees based in Portland, Oregon. It enrolls 2,120 students (a mid-sized student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.

Acceptance
78.5%
Graduation
71.4%
Net Price
$36,013
Median Earnings (10yr)
$62,205
Enrollment
2,120
Student : Faculty
12:1

Accreditor Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
Academic Calendar Semester

How It Measures Up

These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.

Good
61/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes 80
Value 10
Affordability 13
Selectivity 66

Admissions & Acceptance Rate

Lewis & Clark College admits 78.5% of applicants, which makes it open to most qualified applicants, so admission is unlikely to be the hurdle.

Acceptance Rate
78.5%
Easy
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test Policy Test Optional Applicants choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores.

5-Year Admission Trend

Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Lewis & Clark College is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.

Stable ↑ 2.4 pts since 2019
72.2%201979.8%202079.5%202168.6%202274.5%2023

Cost & Financial Aid

Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $36,013 a year on average, it sits above what private nonprofit colleges charge nationally. That is a serious number, so the earnings further down matter more here than usual. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.

The average hides a wide spread by household income, so it is worth estimating what a family at your income would actually pay before treating this as the price.

Average Net Price
$36,013
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
20%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
66%
Borrowing to attend

Full Cost Breakdown

Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.

Tuition & Fees
$64,828
Room & Board (on-campus)
$15,648
Room & Board (off-campus)
$12,906
Books & Supplies
$800
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$2,852
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$3,672
Total Cost of Attendance
$79,987

Net Price by Family Income

Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.

  • Under $30,000
    $15,962
  • $30,001 – $48,000
    $18,362
  • $48,001 – $75,000
    $22,712
  • $75,001 – $110,000
    $25,917
  • Over $110,000
    $44,990

Debt at Graduation

Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.

$5,250
10% percentile
$8,750
25% percentile
$19,500
Median percentile
$27,000
75% percentile
$34,000
90% percentile

Median Debt by Student Type

Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.

GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $15,500 ↓ $4,000
No Pell $12,000 ↓ $7,500
Dependent students $13,777 ↓ $5,723
Independent students $12,732 ↓ $6,768
Female students $13,296 ↓ $6,204
Male students $14,750 ↓ $4,750
Pell recipients: 18.9% (3,684 students)No Pell: 14.6% (2,852 students)Dependent students: 16.8% (3,274 students)Independent students: 15.5% (3,026 students)Female students: 16.2% (3,160 students)Male students: 18.0% (3,505 students)Overall Median$19,500
Worth knowing: Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $5,500, less than completers ($19,500), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.

Graduation Rate & Retention

71% of students who start here finish within six years, and 85% come back after first year. Roughly half finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.

Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.

6-Year Graduation Rate
71%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
85%
Returning for their second year

After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes

Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $62,205 a year, above the national median. That is a healthy return for most cost levels. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.

Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$62,205
Earning > $25K
81%
10 yrs after entry

Earnings Growth After Graduation

Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.

$40,000$45,000$55,000$60,000$65,0006 yrs8 yrs10 yrs

Earnings by Demographic

Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.

By Gender

Female graduates
$50,700

Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.

Male graduates
$62,800

Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.


By Family Income at Entry

Family income (lowest third)
$63,400

Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.

Family income (middle third)
$51,300

Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.

Family income (highest third)
$52,300

Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.

The gender gap: Male graduates earn $12,100, about 19% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.

Loan Repayment Progression

Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.

Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑ 9.0 pts across 6 years
82.8%1yr87.2%3yr92.8%5yr91.8%7yr
What this signals: Excellent. 92% of graduates were paying down at least $1 of principal seven years out.

Who Studies Here

Who you would actually be sitting next to: 2,120 students, a mid-sized community.

Total Enrolled
2,120
Part-Time
1%
First-Generation
17%

Race & Ethnicity Breakdown

Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.

GroupShareStudents
White 63.2% 1,339
Hispanic 13.1% 277
Other 9.5% 201
International 5.9% 126
Asian 4.7% 100
Black 2.8% 60
White: 63.2% (1,339 students)Hispanic: 13.1% (277 students)Other: 9.5% (201 students)International: 5.9% (126 students)Asian: 4.7% (100 students)Black: 2.8% (60 students)Total2,120

Student Life & Campus Culture

Where students live, learn, and connect at Lewis & Clark College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.

Setting
Large City Portland, Oregon
Housing
Strongly residential 1,516 beds for 2,120 students
Adult Learners
1% of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NCAA athletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semester scheduling structure

What You Can Study

After that comes the national picture for Social Sciences graduates, which shows what the field pays across every college rather than just this one.

Lewis & Clark College offers a varied set of programs: 37 distinct programs across 18 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.

2 Programs
2 Programs
2 Programs
3 Programs
1 Program
4 Programs

Faculty & Resources

There are 12 students for every instructor here: about average, so expect a mix of small seminars and big lectures.

Student : Faculty
12:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Endowment
$426M
Solid financial position
Avg Faculty Salary
$97,266
9-month equivalent across all ranks

Faculty by Rank

186 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.

Rank Faculty Count Share Avg Salary
Full Professors 60 32% $127,844
Associate Professors 86 46% $89,889
Assistant Professors 37 20% $83,022
Instructors 2 1% $61,951
Lecturers 1 1% $109,041

Pros & Cons of Lewis & Clark College

No college is right for everyone. Here is where Lewis & Clark College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.

Read against a single profile these cut both ways, which is why it helps to put two colleges side by side on the same measures rather than judging one in isolation.

PROS
  • Accessible admissions for most applicants
  • Small classes (low student-faculty ratio)
  • Above-average graduation rate
  • Solid post-graduation earnings
CONS
  • High net price compared to most US colleges
  • Very high published cost of attendance (full-pay families pay much more than the net-price average)
  • Predominantly serves middle- and upper-income families
  • Most students take on federal loans
Best for: Based on the data, Lewis & Clark College is a fit for students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier.

Frequently Asked Questions about Lewis & Clark College

The questions families ask most about Lewis & Clark College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.

Is Lewis & Clark College hard to get into?
Not especially. Lewis & Clark College admits most qualified applicants, with an acceptance rate of 78.5%. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Lewis & Clark College?
78.5% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
How much does Lewis & Clark College cost?
Budget around $36,013 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Lewis & Clark College worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $62,205 a year against a net price of $36,013, about 1.7 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Lewis & Clark College known for?
Mostly Law, Mental Health Services, Psychology. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Lewis & Clark College graduates earn?
About $62,205 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Lewis & Clark College accredited?
Yes. Lewis & Clark College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.
How many students attend Lewis & Clark College?
2,120 students. Big enough for a wide course catalogue without feeling anonymous. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Lewis & Clark College?
71% finish within six years. That leaves a meaningful share who do not finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Lewis & Clark College a public or private college?
It is Private Nonprofit. Private nonprofit, so the sticker price is higher but institutional aid is often larger too.
Where is Lewis & Clark College located?
Lewis & Clark College is located in Portland, Oregon.
What programs does Lewis & Clark College offer?
37 different programs, most commonly Law, Mental Health Services, Psychology. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Lewis & Clark College?
12 students per instructor. Low enough that staff are likely to know who you are. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.

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