Mount Holyoke College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes

Mount Holyoke College is a private institution located in Worcester, Massachusetts and one of the highly selective schools in the country. For the most recent reporting cycle, Mount Holyoke College admits roughly one in four applicants, with an overall admission rate of 21%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1354 and an ACT composite around 30. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $36,868 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Mount Holyoke College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.

What GPA does my child need for Mount Holyoke College?

Most admitted students at Mount Holyoke College present unweighted GPAs in the 3.85–4.0 range with five or more AP or honors courses across high school. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.

SAT and ACT scores Mount Holyoke College typically admits

The middle-50 SAT Math range is 620–700, with an EBRW midpoint near 670. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 28–32. A score at or above this school's 75th percentile materially improves your child's odds, particularly when paired with a rigorous course load.

How much does Mount Holyoke College actually cost?

Published tuition is $60,850 for in-state students and $60,850 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $17,750 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $36,868 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 15% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.

Application deadlines and early decision data for Mount Holyoke College

Most popular majors at Mount Holyoke College

The most popular undergraduate programs at Mount Holyoke College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Psychology, General, Economics and Political Science and Government. Across all programs, Mount Holyoke College confers roughly 627 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Psychology, General program report a median income of about $63,311 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.

Is Mount Holyoke College safe? Campus crime & safety

In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Mount Holyoke College disclosed 7 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 2.3 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 1 violent offenses and 5 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.

Other colleges in Massachusetts parents ask about

• Harvard University
  3% acceptance
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  5% acceptance
• Boston University
  11% acceptance
• Boston College
  16% acceptance
• Tufts University
  10% acceptance
• University of Massachusetts-Amherst
  85% acceptance
• University of Massachusetts-Boston
  58% acceptance
• Northeastern University
  6% acceptance

Common questions parents ask about Mount Holyoke College