by our College Data Analytics TeamMcDaniel College is a private not-for-profit institution in Westminster, Maryland enrolling 1,617 undergraduates. It accepts 78% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 63%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #456 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 9%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
McDaniel College ranks #456 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 9%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
McDaniel College was awarded 46 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked McDaniel as #456 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.
McDaniel is also ranked #9 on the Best Colleges in Maryland list.
See all of the rankings for McDaniel College.
McDaniel College has an acceptance rate of 78%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.
Learn more about McDaniel College admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at McDaniel College is about average at 13 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at McDaniel College is 25%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
McDaniel College has a freshmen retention rate of 76%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At McDaniel the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 63%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at McDaniel College.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,617 undergraduates at McDaniel.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at McDaniel College.
The average net price of McDaniel is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $12,210 | $17,261 | $19,796 | $21,408 | $30,694 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of McDaniel, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At McDaniel, approximately 58% of students took out student loans averaging $6,250 a year. That adds up to $25,000 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for McDaniel College.
Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from McDaniel College with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $60,663 in their early years. That’s great news for McDaniel College students since it is 23% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at McDaniel College make the most money.
McDaniel College is an private not-for-profit institution found in Westminster, Maryland. Westminster is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of McDaniel College.
Contact details for McDaniel College are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2 College Hill, Westminster, MD 21157 |
| Phone: | 4108487000 |
| Website: | www.mcdaniel.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDaniel_College |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 23 majors graduated from McDaniel College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 844 | NA |
| Educational Administration | 139 | NA |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 70 | NA |
| Health & Physical Education | 45 | $34,448 |
| Business Administration & Management | 44 | $52,841 |
| Curriculum & Instruction | 44 | $59,058 |
| Student Counseling | 41 | $45,696 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 35 | $51,549 |
| General Psychology | 33 | $35,153 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 26 | $35,587 |
443 students took at least one online class at McDaniel College.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at McDaniel College.
Want to see how other colleges compare to McDaniel? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References