Gwynedd Mercy University

With 7 social work graduates in the latest year, Gwynedd Mercy University runs a small BSW cohort — #480 among 587 programs nationally by size. Worth asking the department how often required practice courses run, since smaller programs sometimes offer them only once a year.

63.9% of students here finish their degree, against a national median of 50.4% across the BSW colleges in this directory — a meaningful margin. Students who finish take a median of 5 years to do it. Unusually, part-time students complete at a higher rate here (68.4%) than full-time students (58.0%) — often a sign of a program built around people already working in the field. Transfer students actually outperform first-time entrants here (72.2% vs 54.0%), which is a good signal if you are coming from a community college.

The average student pays $27,960 a year after grants and scholarships — $3,240 above the $24,721 median across the 35 BSW colleges in Pennsylvania. 35.0% of first-time students receive Pell Grants. Net price is the number that matters when comparing programs, not sticker tuition — and because most social work roles are with government or nonprofit employers, graduates are typically eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness.