Private nonprofit · College

Menlo College

Atherton, California · Large suburb

68.5%
Admit rate
$31,100
Avg net price
54%
Graduation rate
$76,419
Median earnings

Menlo College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Atherton, California (large suburb setting), enrolling 752 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

Private nonprofitSmall · 752 undergradsLarge suburbAccessible · 68% admitNCAA Division II with footballNear the coast

About Atherton, California

Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States. The entire area was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas. During the 1860s, Atherton was known as Fair Oaks. In 1923, Menlo Park wanted to incorporate its lands to include Fair Oaks, but the Fair Oaks property owners chose to incorporate separately. There are also home owners' associations in various neighborhoods. The Menlo Circus Club is a private club with tennis, swimming, stables and a riding ring located within the town. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large suburb
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
19 miles to San Jose, CA
To the ocean
4 miles
Nearest airport
5 miles to San Carlos (SQL)

How Menlo College compares

Selectivity68.5%

More selective than 66% · #46 most selective of 107 in California

Graduation rate54%

Higher than 47% · #83 of 122 in California

First-year retention70%

Higher than 30%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$76,419

Higher than 89% · #39 of 130 in California

Average net price$31,100

Cheaper than 13% · #79 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$21,750

Lower than 61%

Student–faculty ratio14 : 1

Lower than 42%

Undergraduate enrollment752

Larger than 29%

Percentiles compare Menlo College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in California.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

798students
  • Undergraduate75294%
  • Graduate466%

Undergraduates by gender

752undergrads
  • Women38351%
  • Men36949%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White17%
  • Black5.1%
  • Hispanic32%
  • Asian6.7%
  • Other or multiracial39%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
752
Graduate enrollment
46
Student–faculty ratio
14 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
31%
First-generation students
40%
Students over 25
5%
Median family income
$49,601
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$93,096
Endowment
$21,196,355

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
68.5%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$53,630
Room & board
$18,236
Books & supplies
$1,062
Total cost of attendance
$72,020
Average net price
$31,100

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
54%
Graduated on time (4 years)
37%
First-year retention
70%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$60,608
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$76,419
Median debt at graduation
$21,750
Students with federal loans
44%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
60%

About 17% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
37%
Low-income (Pell)
63%
First-generation
53%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
838
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
100%+
Application fee
$40
Athletics
NCAA Division II with football
Varsity athletes
330 (186 men · 144 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (8)

Wrestling67
Soccer66
Baseball47
Volleyball40
Basketball33
Golf28
Softball28
Tennis21

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.5 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
6
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (810 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

2.0reported offenses a year
2.0 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
1.3
Fondling
0.7

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$25,546
$30–48k
$27,618
$48–75k
$28,103
$75–110k
$31,596
$110k+
$37,298

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$125,460

$28,103/year × about 4.5 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$38,261
average award, among those who get one

Menlo College discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $38,261. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 202 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$76,419
Typical debt at graduation
$21,750
Debt vs. one year's pay
28%
Out-earn a HS grad
61%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$70,673
Men
$80,438

Men out-earn women by $9,765 (14%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
80°F
Winter low
39°F
Annual rain
15.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
30°60°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.01.63.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Palo Alto, CA US station (2.9 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Menlo College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Menlo College side by side →

Colleges near Menlo College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.