by our College Data Analytics TeamHere is what you can expect to pay at Sarah Lawrence College, including attendance costs, projected four- and two-year degree costs, average net price, debt outcomes, and how aid is distributed across income levels.
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The full cost of attending Sarah Lawrence College comes to about $79,320.00 per academic year.
Here the cost is broken out three ways: no aid, average aid, and the aid a low-income student typically receives.
| Tuition and fees | $66,862.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $12,458.00 |
| Total cost | $79,320.00 |
| That is 142% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $79,320.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$41,030.00 |
| Net price | $38,290.00 |
| That is 17% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $79,320.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$52,591.00 |
| Net price | $26,729.00 |
| That is 19% below the national average net price. | |
| For the full breakdown, see tuition and fees and living costs. |
The reported cost series has been increasing at about 4.0% a year, so a full degree will cost more than a single year — the tables below carry that forward. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. The loan rows amortise the projected total over a ten-year, 6.8% repayment.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| Freshman year | $27,794.00 | $39,816.00 | $82,482.00 |
| Senior year | $31,252.00 | $44,770.00 | $92,743.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $118,003.00 | $169,042.00 | $350,181.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $44,955.00 | $64,399.00 | $133,406.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,358.00 | $1,945.00 | $4,030.00 |
| Total amount paid | $162,958.00 | $233,442.00 | $483,588.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.0% | 4.0% | 4.0% |
| Freshman year | $27,794.00 | $39,816.00 | $82,482.00 |
| Senior year | $28,902.00 | $41,403.00 | $85,769.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $56,697.00 | $81,219.00 | $168,251.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $21,599.00 | $30,942.00 | $64,097.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $652.00 | $935.00 | $1,936.00 |
| Total amount paid | $78,296.00 | $112,161.00 | $232,348.00 |
Read more in the Net Price section.
Net price strips out grant and scholarship aid to show what families really pay. For most prospective students, net price gives a more realistic estimate than sticker tuition.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $41,437.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $21,132.00 |
The real cost varies by income because need-based aid scales with financial need. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $20,746.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $24,018.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $27,814.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $16,853.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $21,166.00 |
Get a tailored estimate from the Sarah Lawrence College Net Price Calculator, or reach out to the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the financial aid page.
The median graduating debt at Sarah Lawrence College works out to $19,500.00, placing the school in the Low ($10-20k) burden tier.
The percentile spread of debt at graduation is shown below:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,500.00 |
| 25th | $6,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $19,500.00 |
| 75th | $19,500.00 |
| 90th | $28,553.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
For the full borrowing and repayment picture, see the student loan debt page.
Debt outcomes vary substantially with family income. Below, debt is broken out by low, middle, and high family income:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,000.00 |
| Middle income | $23,765.00 |
| High income | $19,463.00 |
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,500.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750.00 |
First-generation graduates from Sarah Lawrence College take on $2,750.00 in additional median debt versus continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Looking at Pell recipients versus non-recipients tells us how debt is distributed across need.
The Pell-versus-non-Pell median debt difference at Sarah Lawrence College comes to $3,324.00. This school carries a federal Pell-debt-inequity flag.
The federal default-rate classification for Sarah Lawrence College is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 2.6% |
For context on the loan portfolio, Stafford disbursements at Sarah Lawrence College add up to $107,778,290.00 over 4,974 student borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for substantial federal education benefits including the GI Bill and Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense.
| GI Bill recipients | 12 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $34,508.00 |
Read more about military and veteran aid on the college veterans page.
Beyond the data above, it helps to ask a few questions when weighing Sarah Lawrence College, think through the questions below:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.