Private nonprofit · University

Mount Saint Mary's University

Los Angeles, California · Large city

73.1%
Admit rate
$21,413
Avg net price
53%
Graduation rate
$72,379
Median earnings

Mount Saint Mary's University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Los Angeles, California (large city setting), enrolling 1,719 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). It is a women's college. It has a Roman Catholic religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,719 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 73% admitMild wintersNear the coast

About Los Angeles, California

Los Angeles is the most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Southern California. The historic center of Tongva power in the region was the settlement of Yaanga (Tongva: Iyáangẚ), meaning "place of the poison oak", which would eventually be the site where the Spanish founded the Pueblo de Los Ángeles. Iyáangẚ has also been translated as "the valley of smoke". Los Angeles is often billed as the creative capital of the world because one in every six of its residents works in a creative industry and there are more artists, writers, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians living and working in Los Angeles than any other city at any other time in world history. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To the ocean
5 miles
Nearest airport
11 miles to Los Angeles (LAX) · major hub

How Mount Saint Mary's University compares

Selectivity73.1%

More selective than 58% · #49 most selective of 107 in California

Graduation rate53%

Higher than 46% · #85 of 122 in California

First-year retention71%

Higher than 34%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$72,379

Higher than 85% · #45 of 130 in California

Average net price$21,413

Cheaper than 43% · #51 cheapest of 118 in California

Median debt at graduation$25,949

Lower than 26%

Student–faculty ratio8 : 1

Lower than 89%

Undergraduate enrollment1,719

Larger than 53%

Percentiles compare Mount Saint Mary's University 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

2,300students
  • Undergraduate1,71975%
  • Graduate58125%

Undergraduates by gender

1,719undergrads
  • Women1,60193%
  • Men1187%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White8.0%
  • Black6.5%
  • Hispanic57%
  • Asian18%
  • Other or multiracial10%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,719
Graduate enrollment
581
Student–faculty ratio
8 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
57%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
14%
Median family income
$35,520
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$86,445
Endowment
$174,149,175

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

Admissions

Admission rate
73.1%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$49,564
Room & board
$15,518
Books & supplies
$2,530
Total cost of attendance
$66,726
Average net price
$21,413

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)
53%
Graduated on time (4 years)
33%
First-year retention
71%
Transferred to another college
46%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$61,335
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$72,379
Median debt at graduation
$25,949
Students with federal loans
68%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
52%

About 20% 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
33%
Low-income (Pell)
57%
First-generation
57%

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
601
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
35%
Application fee
Free

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%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
5.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
13
Property offenses (2022–2024)
26

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (2,312 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.

13reported offenses a year
4.3 violent a year8.7 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
6.7
Aggravated assault
1.7
Motor vehicle theft
1.3
Rape
1.0
Robbery
1.0
Fondling
0.7
Arson
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
$23,849
$30–48k
$13,718
$48–75k
$17,876
$75–110k
$30,247
$110k+
$18,762

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
$81,726

$17,876/year × about 4.6 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
$28,109
average award, among those who get one

Mount Saint Mary's University discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $28,109. 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 374 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)
$72,379
Typical debt at graduation
$25,949
Debt vs. one year's pay
36%
Out-earn a HS grad
78%

Typical debt would take roughly 3.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

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
$70,428
Men
$116,533

Men out-earn women by $46,105 (65%) 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
83°F
Winter low
50°F
Annual rain
18.1″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Getty Ctr, CA US station (0.2 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 Mount Saint Mary's University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Mount Saint Mary's University side by side →

Colleges near Mount Saint Mary's University

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.