Cedar Crest College

Private · Moderately Selective · PA

Photo: CyberXRef (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationPA · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads834

Student:faculty9:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate51.2%

6-yr grad rate60.4%

Drop-out rate29%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$46k

Out-of-state tuition$46k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity53.1%

Gender diversity91.5%

International6.6%

Identity—

Overview

Cedar Crest College is a women's college on an arboretum campus in Allentown, Pennsylvania, known for strength in nursing, forensic science, and the broader health sciences. Alongside its traditional women's college, Cedar Crest runs coeducational adult-completion and graduate programs, giving it a dual identity as both a small residential women's college and a more flexible degree-completion institution.

Academics

Forensic science is one of Cedar Crest's more distinctive programs, paired with strong nursing and other health-science majors that benefit from the Lehigh Valley's hospital and biotech presence nearby. The arboretum campus itself supports environmental and biology coursework directly, and class sizes across programs stay small.

Campus & student life

The wooded, arboretum-designated campus gives Cedar Crest a notably green, park-like setting within Allentown, and as a women's college its traditions and peer culture are organized around that identity for the traditional undergraduate population. The coeducational adult and graduate programs operate on a more flexible schedule, appealing to different populations than the residential women's college students.

Getting in

Cedar Crest reviews applicants holistically, and forensic science and nursing applicants in particular are evaluated with attention to science preparation given the rigor of those programs. Fit with the women's college model is part of what admissions looks for among traditional undergraduate applicants.

After graduation

Forensic science and nursing graduates place well into regional crime labs, hospitals, and Lehigh Valley health systems, reflecting the practical, lab- and clinic-connected structure of those programs.

cedarcrest.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate84.1%

Enrolled mid-50%1240

Test policynot used

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying