
Jenkintown, PAprivate nonprofitwww.manor.edu/
Admit rate has ranged 86%–96% over the last 5 years — notably volatile. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
Manor College is a tiny, open-access Catholic institution in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, that operates less like a traditional college and more like a focused career launchpad. Its identity is defined by an exceptionally nurturing, tight-knit community and a pragmatic academic portfolio heavily skewed toward direct-entry healthcare professions like veterinary technology and dental hygiene. While its graduation rates are low, its mission is clear: to provide an accessible, supportive on-ramp to stable, middle-class careers for students who might otherwise be overlooked by the higher education system.
Test-blind — scores not considered
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
Outcomes & value
Campus & location
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Manor College's admissions process is defined by accessibility and flexibility, positioning itself as an open door for a wide range of students. With a rolling admissions policy, the college encourages applicants to "Apply today!" and maintains a non-selective . For the fall of a recent year, the college received 1,147 applications, admitted 1,088, and ultimately enrolled 115 students, resulting in a rate of approximately 10.6%. A significant policy shift is its stance; Manor College has waived the SAT/ACT requirement for all applicants with a high school GPA of 2.0 or greater. For those who do submit scores, the middle 50% SAT range is 725–935. The process is personal, with the admissions office actively encouraging contact via phone or email.
Earnings = median of students working ~10 years after entry; debt = median of graduates. Value divides 10-yr earnings by one year’s net price — read it as earnings per dollar of annual cost, not a full lifetime ROI; it favors lower-cost schools. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~2 years and reflect all students, not your intended major.
Academics at Manor are career-focused, intimate, and built on a foundation of support. The college helps students achieve their career goals through rigorous degree programs within a small, nurturing community. The curriculum is designed to develop key skills in reading, writing, communication, science, and math. Its most popular majors are almost exclusively in hands-on healthcare fields, creating a distinct vocational character on campus:
Beyond these technical programs, Manor offers associate and bachelor's degrees, including in Liberal Arts and Psychology. The Liberal Arts degree is described as a "multi-dimensional learning environment that prepares students for their next" step, while the Psychology program aims to build good critical thinking, effective writing, and good interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Class sizes are small, fostering direct interaction between students and faculty.
Life at Manor is defined by its scale and communal ethos. With a total undergraduate enrollment of just 599 students, it is a profoundly tight-knit community where students feel they belong and are part of something special. The campus culture is guided by core values of reverence, respect, and service, reflecting its Catholic, Basilian heritage. For those who live on campus, Manor offers a safe, community-oriented residential experience.
Student engagement is fostered through clubs and organizations that provide social, cultural, educational, and informational programming. The college has a history of promoting cultural diversity, with a past program that allowed students to experience three different cultural places in one week. According to student reviews, the dining facilities are highly rated by 73% of students. The overall vibe is one of a close, supportive micro-community where everyone knows each other, a stark contrast to the anonymity of a large university.
Outcomes at Manor College present a complex picture of access versus completion. The institution has a notably low graduation rate, which various sources place between 24% and 40%. One analysis places Manor in the bottom 5% of institutions nationally for completion rates, while another notes that over the last five years, 25% of students earned their degree. This suggests many students use Manor as a stepping stone or encounter challenges persisting to graduation.
For those who do graduate, the economic payoff is modest but tangible. Early career earnings for graduates average around $34,000 to $36,427 per year. Earnings grow over time, with reported averages reaching $41,000 per year ten years after entry. The most reliable federal data shows a median earnings figure ten years after entry of $46,825. The outcomes underscore Manor's role as a gateway to stable, skilled-trade and healthcare careers for a population that may not have pursued higher education elsewhere, even if the path to completion is not linear for all.
Manor College positions itself as an affordable option, with a that is a central part of its value proposition. The average annual net price after aid is $13,078. The college awards nearly $600,000 in institutional scholarships each year, covering full and partial tuition. For federal loan recipients in the 2022-2023 year, the net price was $17,861, and it varies by family income; for example, families earning $0-$30,000 had an average net price of $16,600.
The financial aid office provides multiple net price calculators to help families estimate their out-of-pocket costs, defining net price as the estimated minus grants and scholarships. It's important to note that Manor College does not have a "no-loan" policy that meets full need without loans. Instead, it participates in federal student loan programs, where a full-time freshman may borrow up to $3,500 per year in unsubsidized loans, which are not based on financial need. The college has a Financial Aid Code of Conduct governing its practices.
Manor College stands out not for prestige or selectivity, but for its unwavering commitment to a specific, underserved student population. It is a college of clear purpose: a direct, affordable, and highly supportive pipeline into solid healthcare and technical careers. Its identity is crystallized in its academic profile—where Veterinary Technician is the top major, not Business or Biology—and in its 10:1 student-to-faculty ratio that guarantees personal attention. The college embraces its role as a second-chance or first-step institution with a 95% and a policy, removing traditional barriers to entry. While its graduation rates signal the very real challenges its students face, its community model—a safe, values-based, tight-knit environment—is explicitly designed to help them persevere. In a landscape of ever-more-competitive and expensive colleges, Manor is a pragmatic, no-frills alternative that knows exactly what it is and whom it serves.