That is what I am going to share with you here: not an opinion about whether this school is "good" or "bad" for your child, but the available data, organized so that you can use it. In the end, the decision to add it to or remove it from the list belongs to you, your child, and what your family can afford. I am only helping you read the map.
Who This School Is and Where It Is Located
Saint Michael's College is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution. The federal system that classifies colleges in the United States—Carnegie—describes it as a small, highly residential baccalaureate college focused on arts and sciences. That last designation has a specific meaning: at the time of that classification, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time.
It is in Colchester, Vermont, within Chittenden County and the Burlington-South Burlington metropolitan area, although that does not mean the campus is in that city's downtown area. 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, do not rely on what the map says. Drive the route on a weekday at the exact time of their classes. The actual travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
A valuable note that almost no one asks about soon enough: being "highly residential" is not the same as having room and board included in tuition. That cost is almost never included in the brochure. Ask for it separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other.
Regarding academic level, IPEDS—the United States Department of Education's data system—records that the institution reports offering programs through the post-master's certificate level and classifies it as a degree-granting institution that primarily awards bachelor's degrees or higher-level credentials. That is aggregate institutional information: it does not tell you whether the exact major your child is interested in exists there or whether it connects undergraduate and graduate study. That must be verified program by program.
And one clarification worth making right away: Saint Michael's College has none of these three federal designations: it is not a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this national directory, 138 have at least one of the three. Saint Michael's absence from that list says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today.
The Size of the Community and Who Makes It Up
Saint Michael's College had 1,370 students enrolled in the most recent official fall count: 1,178 undergraduates and 192 graduate students. It is primarily an undergraduate college of medium size—between 1,000 and 4,999 students—and that size places it near the middle of the pack among the 941 selective private four-year schools included in this census. It is neither one of the large schools nor one of the small ones.
Now, who makes up that community? Of the undergraduate students reported in fall 2023, 6 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority, and the share is below the midpoint of the comparison group of similar schools without falling into the bottom quarter. That neither removes the school from your list nor puts it on the list: it is simply a fact about who is enrolled. If your child will be one of the few, the right questions to ask during the visit are which student group, which cultural center, and which person in the office speaks Spanish. Talk with a student who is already there before deciding.
The undergraduate population is almost evenly divided between men and women: 54 out of every 100 are women. There are almost no adult students: only 1 out of every 100 is between 25 and 64 years old. And regarding residency, only 29 out of every 100 first-time students reported permanent residency in Vermont. Most come from outside the state or the country, or their residency was not reported separately.
One simple truth worth remembering: being large does not mean more options, and being small does not mean more attention for your child. Always ask about the specific major, not the entire school.
How the Academic Year Is Structured
The academic year at Saint Michael's College is organized into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The institution accepts credit for AP exams but did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program and reports accepting credit for military training.
Here is a hard truth that can save you disappointment later: saying that they accept AP does not mean they will give you credit for every exam. It does not say what score they require, how many credits they award, or whether those credits count toward your child's specific major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
Regarding the range of majors offered, in the most recent year reported, Saint Michael's College awarded 309 bachelor's degrees across 19 academic program families. No single family accounts for most of the total: the largest, business and management, represented only 19 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. The offerings are broad and distributed rather than concentrated in a single field. But be careful: 19 families with a row in the report do not equal 19 majors in the current catalog. Verify the exact program that interests your child.
Regarding the student-to-instructional-staff ratio, at Saint Michael's College there are 10 full-time-equivalent students for each full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. It is a low ratio, below the midpoint among similar schools. But this number does not tell you the actual size of first-year classes. IPEDS does not publish that information, and the file does not explain the exact method behind this ratio.
The institution also reports structured academic opportunities: study abroad, teacher-certification preparation below the postsecondary level, and state approval of its program for initial teacher certification.
The Entrance Gate: How Difficult Admission Is and How Likely an Admitted Student Is to Enroll
This is where many families become nervous unnecessarily. Let us take it slowly, because the numbers tell a clear story.
Saint Michael's College does not have open admissions: it reviews several components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks six as required: the high school record, grade-point average, the curriculum completed, the personal essay, letters of recommendation, and the English proficiency examination when applicable. It also considers, although it does not require, class rank, work experience, and whether a relative attended the school—the so-called "legacy" status. If that is not your child's situation, do not waste energy worrying about it. Spend that energy on what is within your child's control.
To begin with, there is no cost to submit the undergraduate application: the published fee is $0.
Now for the central figure: in the 2023 cycle, Saint Michael's College received 2,639 first-time applications and offered admission to 2,424 applicants. That is 92 out of every 100 applicants admitted. Compared with the 942 selective private schools in this census, it is on the more accessible side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, admit an equal or smaller percentage. Put simply, out of every 100 who apply, 92 receive a yes. Even so, the application must be submitted complete and on time.
But here is a twist that every family needs to understand before getting too excited: out of every 100 students admitted in 2023, only 13 enrolled. The other 87 do not appear as enrolled at this institution during that period—the data do not say where they went or why. Compared with similar schools, this enrollment rate is on the low side: at seven out of ten similar schools, a larger share of admitted students enroll.
Put in terms for a family: out of every 8 young people who receive a yes from this school, about one ends up enrolling. And this is not a mark against the institution—the federal record does not explain why each person chose what they chose. What I can tell you is this: what others decided does not predict what you will be offered. Wait for your own letter with the net price. With that number in hand, decide whether this school stays on your list.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required at Saint Michael's College. If your child submits them, they will be considered; if not, the application remains equally valid. Of those who enrolled in 2023, only 11 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores. Among them, the middle half scored between 600 and 680 in reading and writing and between 550 and 630 in mathematics. Those ranges describe students who had already enrolled and chose to submit their scores—they are neither a minimum nor a guarantee for anyone else.
Regarding transfers, in fall 2023, 33 undergraduate students came to Saint Michael's after previously studying at another institution. It is a count on the low side compared with similar schools, although it is consistent with the school's size. The transfer-out rate—how many students who entered here transferred elsewhere—is not reported in this file. That does not prove that no one transfers; the data are simply unavailable.
The Sticker Price: What It Costs Before Any Aid
At Saint Michael's College, among 15 full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $18,855. Among 25 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $24,230; among 96 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $34,664. For dependent students, the band combines their parents' income with their own.
There is a difference of $15,809 between the average for the lowest-income band (15 students) and the average for the highest-income band (96 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family's price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $30,806.
$18,855 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, correctly identifying yours is the first step. The income bands in this profile describe full-time, first-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 with grant aid, when shown, describes full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The letter that matters is the financial aid letter you receive.
How It Is Paid: Grants, Loans, and What That Means
Here the news is generally encouraging, with qualifications that need to be stated plainly.
At Saint Michael's College, 99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students receive some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something here is the norm, not the exception. Among those who receive it, the annual average is $34,937—although that average includes people who received much more and people who received much less.
Now for the part that must be stated without embellishment: the federal Pell Grant, intended for low-income families, reached only 18 out of every 100 students. That means at least 81 out of every 100 received aid that came from another source—the school itself, the state, or somewhere else. The report does not separate the source of each grant or scholarship, so it cannot tell you exactly what your child would receive. Ask the school directly: who awards that aid, who qualifies, and what is required to renew it each year.
Regarding loans, 58 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in the 2022-23 school year. Among those who borrowed, the average was $9,790 in a single year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years of college, the total would be around $39,160—before interest and excluding Parent PLUS loans, bank debt, and credit cards. That number is decided before the first signature, not at the end.
The institution also reports a tuition payment plan that allows payments in installments as a formal mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus Life, Athletics, and Available Support
Saint Michael's College has institution-controlled housing with a reported capacity of 1,265 students. Not everyone is required to live there—the institution responded that it does not impose that requirement universally, although that does not rule out the possibility that a specific program may require it. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed: ask in writing for the year's rate, the housing application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed a place or placed on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, the institution did not mark any opportunity for this program in its most recent report. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 did mark one; Saint Michael's was not among them. That does not prove that no nearby pathway exists—it only means none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask about it directly before ruling it out.
It does compete in intercollegiate athletics as an NCAA-affiliated institution, with reported participation in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. If your child is interested in athletics, write directly to the coach: ask whether there is a place on the team, which division they compete in, and whether that sport awards athletic scholarships. Get the response in writing.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice it is marginal: only 1 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes at a distance. The institution reported that it does not offer any complete program that can be finished entirely online.
The library operates with paid staff and annual expenditures exceeding the $100,000 threshold recorded by the government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that it has specialized databases for your child's major—ask about that by program name.
Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students and placement services for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for service members and their families, a student veterans organization, and a published web address for services for people with disabilities.
How Likely Your Child Is to Stay and Graduate
For many families, this is the question that truly matters. Let us look at the numbers.
Of the cohort that entered in fall 2022—258 full-time, first-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students—217 met the official retention criterion the following year: they were still enrolled or had already graduated. That is 84 out of every 100. Compared with 930 similar schools, Saint Michael's is in the upper portion: it retains a larger share than most of its peers. What this number does not tell you is what happened to the other 41 students who were not included in that count: not returning is not the same as dropping out. Someone who transferred and continues studying elsewhere is counted the same as someone who left school.
Regarding graduation, IPEDS followed 408 students who entered a bachelor's degree program in 2017 as full-time, first-time students. After six years, 281 had graduated from that same institution: 69 out of every 100. After four years, the figure was already 63 out of every 100—only 6 points below the final six-year result, a small gap. Compared with 920 similar schools, it is above the group's median.
An honest clarification: the available data fields do not make it possible to fully reconstruct what happened to the rest of that cohort. A missing row does not automatically become zero and does not authorize anyone to say that those students transferred, remained paused, or dropped out. That information simply cannot be determined from these data.
There is an even longer-term view. IPEDS followed a cohort of 504 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including both first-time students and those who already had prior college experience. As of August 2023—eight years later—78 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Compared with 935 similar schools, this places it in the group's top quarter.
Within that same cohort, students who received a Pell Grant graduated at a lower rate: 69 out of every 100, eleven points below students who did not receive Pell. A family's eligibility for Pell today does not determine your child's individual outcome, but it is a legitimate question worth asking the school directly: what counseling, emergency assistance, and specific support are available for those students, and whether institutional aid is renewed from year to year. Ask for the answer in writing.
How to Read All of This Together
You now have an in-depth understanding of one of the pieces you need to make a decision: what kind of college Saint Michael's College is according to its own official data.
None of these numbers, by itself, tells you whether this is the right college for your child.
If you are just beginning to build the college list, use this article as a starting point and ask your child how far away they can imagine living while studying. If this school is already near the end of your decision process, only one thing remains: the financial aid letter with the exact number. Until you have it in hand, no average in this article is your family's price.
You are not alone in reading this. You are doing exactly what you need to do: understanding the terrain before your child has to walk it.
Source note: The information in this article comes from data reported by Saint Michael's College to the United States Department of Education's IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), primarily from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Saint Michael's College or any United States government agency; this article organizes and explains existing public data.