I am not going to tell you whether this university is "good" or "bad." No number can tell you that. What I can do is show you precisely what Eastern University is according to its own official reports, so that you can thoughtfully incorporate it into the plan you are building with your child.
Who Eastern University Is and Where It Stands
Eastern University is a private nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more, located in Saint Davids, Pennsylvania, in Delaware County and within the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area. That does not mean it is in downtown Philadelphia: its census code places it in a suburb, within the urbanized area but outside the principal city. If your child plans to live at home and drive every day, do not rely on what the map says: drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child would have class. The actual travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
The Carnegie system, which classifies US colleges and universities by what they do, describes it as a small, primarily residential, four-year master's university with larger programs: at the time of that count, between 25 and 49 out of every 100 degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing. In another Carnegie snapshot, based on degrees awarded in 2019-20, between 60% and 79% of undergraduate majors were in professional fields, with the remainder in arts and sciences. That figure is historical; it is not today's enrollment. If your child already knows what major she wants, do not ask that question about the entire university: ask it specifically about that major.
IPEDS, the federal data system, records the doctorate as the highest level the institution reports offering and classifies it as a degree-granting school that awards primarily bachelor's degrees or higher. That does not tell you whether your child's major exists or whether it connects to a graduate program: verify the exact pathway.
And one distinction is worth stating plainly: Eastern University does not appear with any of three specific designations—it is not a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Those are three different answers with different histories, and none of them tells you which students the university serves, how many Latino students are on campus, or how your child will feel there. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today, and speak with someone who is already studying there.
The Actual Size: Who Will Share the Classroom With Your Child
In the most recent fall, Eastern University had total enrollment of 6,981. That places it in the 5,000 to 9,999 range—neither among the smallest nor the largest—and on the larger side compared with other selective private schools of its type. But that number conceals something important: of that total of 6,981, only 2,068 are undergraduates. The other 4,913 are graduate students. Graduate enrollment outweighs undergraduate enrollment here. If your child is entering a bachelor's-degree program, the number that matters is 2,068, not the total.
There are more women than men among undergraduates: 62 out of every 100 are women. And there is something worth knowing if your child is enrolling directly after high school: 31 out of every 100 undergraduate students are between 25 and 64 years old. Adult students have a substantial presence in the classroom. That does not tell you what day-to-day interaction is like, but it does make it worth asking about schedules and weekday student life, because the campus experience of a student who is 19 years old may feel different from that of one who is 35.
Regarding the Hispanic community: 16 out of every 100 undergraduate students reported being Hispanic or Latino in the fall of 2023. They are not the majority, but they are not an unusual presence either, and compared with nearly a thousand similar selective private schools, this proportion falls within the group's highest quarter. And just over half of entering students, 65 out of every 100, came from the university's home state.
How the Academic Year Works and Which Credits Might Count for Your Child
The academic calendar uses semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The institution stated that it accepts credit from AP exams and also what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, prior licenses or certifications, or even military opportunities—and separately reports accepting credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth I cannot soften for you: the school's statement that these pathways exist does not mean it will recognize the credit your child brings. It does not say what AP scores are required or how many credits are awarded for them. Request a written transfer-credit evaluation before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for academic programs: in the most recent year reported, Eastern University awarded 314 bachelor's degrees across 23 academic program families. No single family accounts for most of the total: the largest, business and management, accounted for only 20 out of every 100 degrees. Compared with similar schools, this places it among those with greater program variety at the detailed level. But be careful: 23 program families with records do not equal 23 complete majors, nor does each one have degrees actually awarded within it. Verify the exact program that interests your child, not the general category.
Regarding class size, the reported ratio is 19 students per full-time-equivalent faculty member. Compared with similar schools, this falls within the highest quarter—that is, more students per faculty member than at most peer institutions. But this number does not tell you the size of any particular classroom: it is an institution-wide average and does not report the size of first-year classes.
The institution also reports structured academic opportunities: study abroad, credit-bearing developmental education, and teacher-certification preparation pathways, including state approval of the program for initial certification.
Getting Into Eastern University: What It Requires and What Actually Happens
Let us get to the heart of what every family wants to know first: Can my child get in here?
Eastern University does not have open admissions; it reviews specific application components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks three as required: the high school record, high school GPA, and an English-proficiency exam when applicable. Other components are not required but are considered if you submit them: class rank, the academic program completed, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, work experience, and whether a family member attended the university. Your child cannot change that last factor personally. If it does not apply in your child's case, do not spend energy on it: spend that energy on what is within your child's control. The undergraduate application fee, incidentally, is $0.
And now the figure most families want to know first: out of every 100 people who applied for admission in the most recent cycle, 94 were accepted. It is a university that does admit applicants, and compared with other selective private schools, it is on the more accessible side. But a high likelihood of admission does not make what comes next easy: that percentage covers the entire school for a single cycle, and it does not tell you what attendance will cost, how many students finish, or whether your child's specific program has an additional admissions screen.
Here is something that surprises many parents: out of every 100 admitted students, only 19 ultimately enroll. Of every five young people who are admitted, roughly one decides to attend. The others had a place here and did not take it. Do not read that as a mark against the school: the fact that most admitted students do not enroll does not mean the school is bad, and the federal record does not explain why each person chose what they chose. What this does tell you is that receiving the letter is not the same as deciding to attend, and what other people decided does not tell you what the university will offer your child. Wait for your child's letter with the net price—what the year would actually cost—before deciding whether this school stays on the list.
Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. If you submit them, the university considers them; if you do not, the application remains valid all the same. In practice, almost no one submits them: only 1 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted SAT scores.
And regarding transfers, one figure is worth confronting directly: among students who entered for the first time, attended full time, and were seeking a bachelor's degree in 2017, 31 out of every 100 transferred to another institution without finishing here. That is a high proportion compared with similar schools. The report does not say why they left, and there is something important that almost no one notices: a student who transfers is not counted as a graduate of this school, even if that student completes the degree elsewhere. Keep this in mind when you compare graduation rates later.
The Sticker Price: The Big Number You Need to See in Full
For the 2023-24 year, Eastern University reported a total cost of attendance of $56,350 for first-time, full-time undergraduate students living on campus. This budget is the same whether your family is from Pennsylvania or another state.
Broken down, that is $37,420 for tuition and fees, $13,168 for housing and food, $1,424 for books and materials, plus an estimate for other expenses such as transportation and laundry. Compared with nearly 900 similar private schools, this total cost falls above the middle of the group.
But this is the sticker price, not your family's bill. Complete the FAFSA and request the financial-aid letter in writing. Until you have it in hand, you do not know what this school costs for your family.
What Families Actually End Up Paying
At Eastern University, for first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000—a population with a reported size of 90—the average net price was $23,050. For the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000—with a reported size of 60—it was $23,123; for those with EFC family income above $110,000—with a reported size of 96—it was $32,882. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents' income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band, whose population size was 90, and the average for the highest-income band, whose population size was 96, is $9,832. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $21,900.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, Eastern University falls within the most expensive quarter for lower-income families. That does not mean you should rule it out. It means you should request the financial-aid letter before deciding.
An average does not show how different the cases within that band were; these data do not establish that any families were far below or above the published figure. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grants or scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
Grants, Pell, and Loans: The Money That Comes In and the Money That Is Borrowed
The good news is that almost no one pays the full sticker price: 90 out of every 100 students receive some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Among recipients, the average is $20,801 per year. That is real money, but it is not a price: what matters is the amount left after aid, and you need to request that school by school.
39 out of every 100 students receive Pell Grants, the federal aid for families with demonstrated financial need.
Regarding loans: in the most recent school year reported, 56 out of every 100 undergraduate students took out a federal student loan. More than half. Among borrowers, the average amount borrowed that year was $6,887. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years of the degree, the total would be around $27,548, not including interest. That number is determined before the first signature, not at the end. And an important clarification: this average covers only federal loans in the student's name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank or credit-card debt, or the total debt someone carries upon graduation.
The institution also reports an installment tuition-payment plan as a formal mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus Life, ROTC, Sports, and Support Services
Eastern University does have its own housing, and although it responded that not all students are required to live there, that does not tell you whether a particular program or year does require it: ask in writing. The reported maximum capacity of institutional housing is 960 students. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of weekly meals in the largest plan. The existence of a room does not guarantee that a bed is available; request the rate for the year, the deadline, and whether housing is guaranteed or there is a waiting list.
ROTC opportunities are available in two branches: Army and Air Force. Navy is not marked. Its appearance in the report does not mean it is offered on this specific campus or that space or a scholarship is guaranteed: ask about the program by name before building your child's plan around it.
In athletics, Eastern University competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported participation in soccer, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. The membership belongs to the school, not your child: if your child is interested, contact the coach directly to ask whether there is a place on the team, which division it competes in, and whether that sport awards scholarships.
Regarding distance education: 14 out of every 100 undergraduate students take their entire course load online, and 86 take at least one in-person class. The institution reports having at least one complete program that can be finished through distance education, but that does not confirm that it is an undergraduate program or your child's major: confirm it by name and level.
The library operates with paid staff and exceeded the annual spending threshold of $100,000 recorded by the government; it has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. That is the minimum threshold required by the government; it does not guarantee specific databases for your child's major: ask about the major by name.
Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment assistance for current students, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, and a published webpage for disability services.
Who Stays, Who Leaves, and Who Graduates
This is the part people ask about least but that matters most. The cohort that entered in the fall of 2022 as first-time, full-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students totaled 391. Of that cohort, 71 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: one year later, they were still enrolled there or had already graduated. Compared with similar schools, this figure falls slightly below the middle of the group. The report does not identify what happened to the rest: not returning is not the same as dropping out, because someone who transferred and continued studying elsewhere counts the same in this figure as someone who left higher education entirely.
Regarding graduation: the cohort of students who began a bachelor's degree in 2017 as first-time, full-time students had a reported size of 305, and 175 graduated from Eastern University within six years. That is 57 out of every 100. By four years, the figure was already 51 out of every 100, only six points lower. Compared with similar selective private schools, this rate falls below the middle of the group.
Here is something that needs to be said plainly: the published rate does not fully explain what happened to everyone else. A blank field in the report does not automatically become zero, and it does not authorize an assumption of transfer, continued enrollment, a pause, or withdrawal. Moreover, this count follows only first-time, full-time students: it does not include transfer students or part-time students.
A broader eight-year measure follows a cohort with a reported size of 750 that entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including both first-time students and those who already had prior postsecondary experience. As of August 2023, 60 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 57 out of every 100, five points below the group without Pell Grants. Compared with similar schools, it also falls below the middle of the group. And one figure is worth keeping in mind: 21 out of every 100 members of that cohort had an unknown enrollment status in the federal report. Unknown means exactly that: it was not determined whether they were still enrolled anywhere, not that they had dropped out.
What This Article Cannot Tell You
This article cannot tell you what people earn after graduating from Eastern University, how much debt they carry when they leave, or how easily they find employment. Those data require another source and are not authorized here.
How to Put This Into Your Plan
You now know precisely one of the pieces your family needs: what kind of university Eastern University is, how accessible admission is, what it actually costs families at different income levels, and how many of its students stay and graduate. It is up to you to understand that, along with the dates, letters, and signatures.
What your child wants to study, how comfortable your child feels living far from home, and how strong this community feels are things your child must explore and tell you. And what your family can afford, after seeing the actual financial-aid letter, is something you decide together—not something determined by an average published by the government.
No number in this article tells you whether Eastern University is the right university for your child. It tells you, as clearly as possible, what this university is today according to its own reports. Put that together with everything else. The plan grows out of that combination.
Source note: The information in this article comes from official reports to the US Department of Education's IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, with comparisons against a census of selective private four-year institutions. Best College Aid does not represent Eastern University or the US government; this article is not a substitute for the admission letter, financial-aid letter, or information provided directly by the university.