Muhlenberg College

Muhlenberg College has seen its position improve on the U.S. News Best National Liberal Arts Colleges list, rising from 72nd in 2020 to 62nd in 2027. Despite this upward trajectory in national standing, gaining admission remains comparatively accessible. In 2025, the college accepted 72% of applicants, an admit rate higher than 79% of peer schools in its comparison group of similar private liberal arts colleges. This selectivity profile gives prospective candidates favorable odds of securing an offer of admission. However, the college experiences notable difficulty in convincing admitted applicants to matriculate. Its yield rate stood at 13% in 2025, which was higher than 14% of peer schools. A yield rate of this level indicates that Muhlenberg is frequently evaluated alongside other alternatives, with a substantial majority of admitted candidates ultimately deciding to enroll elsewhere. For families building a balanced college list, these patterns suggest that Muhlenberg offers an accessible route to admission even as its national ranking steadily ascends.

Muhlenberg College operates under a test-optional policy, meaning standardized test scores are considered if submitted. For the 2025 entering class, enrolled students who submitted scores achieved a median SAT score of 1330, which is higher than 41% of peer schools in a comparison group of similarly ranked private liberal arts colleges. On the ACT, the published middle 50% score range in 2025 was 29 to 33. The share of enrolling students submitting standardized testing has fallen markedly over time; in 2025, 16% of enrolled undergraduates submitted SAT results, alongside an even smaller proportion submitting ACT scores. Because most admitted students enroll without submitting standardized scores, these score ranges serve primarily as a reference point for candidates evaluating how their testing credentials align with peers who choose to share their results. Applicants planning their submissions can use these benchmarks to gauge their relative academic standing within the reporting pool.

Graduating students at Muhlenberg College are moderately concentrated across a small cluster of popular academic disciplines. In 2025, the top three undergraduate majors accounted for 39% of all bachelor's degrees conferred. The largest individual programs by graduate count were Drama and Dramatics/Theatre Arts with 66 graduates and Business Administration and Management with 62 graduates, followed closely by Psychology. However, the college's largest majors do not carry prominent national program ranks; the only evaluated field, undergraduate Psychology, held a rank of 276 from U.S. News in 2027, placing it outside the threshold of ranked strengths. International students make up only a tiny sliver of graduates in these leading fields. In terms of financial returns, post-graduation earnings data from 2023 demonstrate that business-related fields generate the highest early compensation. Median earnings reached $75,453 one year after graduation for accounting majors, with finance and management majors also posting the highest earnings among reported programs.

Muhlenberg College maintains a predominantly undergraduate student body, with enrollment centered on traditional four-year degree seekers alongside a very small graduate division. White students make up the largest demographic segment on campus, and female students constitute the majority across all class cohorts. Both Asian and international students represent small communities within the student body. In the incoming freshman class of 2025, there were 19 Asian students, who represented 4.1% of the cohort. International representation was even smaller, with 4 international freshmen making up 0.9% of entering students, while continuing undergraduate classes also maintained similarly modest shares. For prospective families examining the campus environment, these enrollment patterns show that international and Asian students make up a small portion of the overall student population.

Muhlenberg College maintains an undergraduate student body centered almost entirely on traditional college ages. In 2025, students aged 18 to 19 made up 45.4% of undergraduates, while those aged 20 to 21 accounted for 42.7%. Campus life is structured around these early-adulthood cohorts, shaping a collegiate environment geared toward full-time, direct-entry students. In contrast, Muhlenberg enrolled only 51 graduate students in 2025. This small cohort serves an older demographic, with 22-to-24-year-olds representing 35.3% of graduate enrollment alongside working adult learners. Because graduate enrollment is so minor, daily campus life and extracurricular activities remain centered on traditional-age undergraduates.

International student enrollment at Muhlenberg College is very low and has trended downward over recent years. In 2025, international students accounted for 1.2% of the undergraduate student body, a drop from previous years. When measured against a comparison group of similar private liberal arts colleges, this undergraduate share was higher than 7% of peer schools. At the graduate level, international enrollment stood at 0%, reflecting a division that caters almost exclusively to domestic students. This sparse representation extends directly to degree completions. In 2025, international scholars constituted 2% of bachelor's degree recipients and 0% of master's degree recipients. Undergraduate international graduates were thinly dispersed across popular majors such as psychology, business administration, and theatre arts, never making up more than a tiny fraction of any class cohort. For overseas families, these numbers show that Muhlenberg offers a predominantly domestic collegiate experience with very few international peers on campus.

Applicants exploring higher education options near Muhlenberg College have access to a variety of institutions located across eastern Pennsylvania. Situated roughly 7 kilometers away in Bethlehem, Lehigh University is a national university ranked 44th in the 2027 rankings. Just 8 kilometers from campus lies DeSales University, another national university ranked 262nd. For students seeking comparable liberal arts institutions, Lafayette College is located 17.2 kilometers away in Easton and placed 30th among liberal arts colleges, while Ursinus College sits 28 kilometers away in Collegeville with a ranking of 91st. These institutions offer varied campus settings within easy driving distance.

Campus safety data at Muhlenberg College shows a notable reduction in incidents over the past decade. The crime rate per 1,000 students fell from 31.9 in 2016 to 10.4 in 2025. Over the period from 2023 to 2025, campus safety records were primarily driven by institutional conduct infractions related to substance use. Disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations accounted for the largest category, with 113 incidents between 2023 and 2025, followed by 28 disciplinary referrals for drug violations. Other recorded incidents across these years included a modest number of liquor arrests alongside occasional reports of dating violence and stalking. For prospective students, these statistics show a secure campus where recorded matters overwhelmingly reflect alcohol policy enforcement rather than high rates of violent crime.