Private nonprofit · College
Ferrum College
Ferrum, Virginia · Distant rural
- 89.0%
- Admit rate
- $20,082
- Avg net price
- 32%
- Graduation rate
- $44,296
- Median earnings
Ferrum College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Ferrum, Virginia (distant rural setting), enrolling 699 undergraduates. It has a United Methodist religious affiliation.
About Ferrum, Virginia
Ferrum is a census-designated place in Franklin County, Virginia, United States. Ferrum is home to Ferrum College and its Blue Ridge Folklife Festival. It is part of the Roanoke metropolitan area. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant rural
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 24 miles to Roanoke, VA
- To the ocean
- 154 miles
- Nearest airport
- 28 miles to Roanoke–Blacksburg (ROA)
How Ferrum College compares
More selective than 26% · #29 most selective of 43 in Virginia
Higher than 13% · #46 of 49 in Virginia
Higher than 18%
Higher than 22% · #42 of 51 in Virginia
Cheaper than 50% · #19 cheapest of 47 in Virginia
Lower than 11%
Lower than 68%
Larger than 27%
Percentiles compare Ferrum College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Virginia.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate69995%
- Graduate395%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women27740%
- Men42260%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White49%
- Black21%
- Hispanic6.2%
- Asian0.7%
- Other or multiracial23%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 699
- Graduate enrollment
- 39
- Student–faculty ratio
- 11 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 54%
- First-generation students
- 39%
- Students over 25
- 3%
- Median family income
- $35,818
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $51,867
- Endowment
- $60,295,089
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 239 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Virginia68%
- Other U.S. states32%
A regional draw: about 68% of first-years come from Virginia, the rest from elsewhere.
Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 89.0%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $28,520
- Room & board
- $13,230
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
- Total cost of attendance
- $54,526
- Average net price
- $20,082
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 32%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 24%
- First-year retention
- 64%
- Transferred to another college
- 37%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $36,418
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $44,296
- Median debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Students with federal loans
- 85%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 41%
About 8% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,293
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 100%+
- Application fee
- $25
- Athletics
- NCAA Division III with football
- Football conference
- Old Dominion Athletic Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 441 (318 men · 123 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (12)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 7.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 7
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 9
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (763 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$19,967/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Ferrum College discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $26,649. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 187 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $44,296
- Typical debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 61%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 44%
Typical debt would take roughly 6.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $8,928 (23%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 87°F
- Winter low
- 26°F
- Annual rain
- 49.2″
- Annual snow
- 12.6″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Rocky MT, VA US station (7.7 mi from campus).
What Ferrum College graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Ferrum College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Ferrum College side by side →
Houghton University
Houghton, New York · Remote rural · 49 mi to Buffalo
- Students
- 753
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $21k
- SAT
- 1284
- GPA
- 3.6
- Earnings
- $47k
Wilson College
Chambersburg, Pennsylvania · Small city · 46 mi to Harrisburg
- Students
- 865
- Admission
- 92%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1000
- GPA
- 2.9
- Earnings
- $43k
Keystone College
La Plume, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 12 mi to Scranton
- Students
- 771
- Admission
- 85%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $45k
Martin Luther College
New Ulm, Minnesota · Distant town · 75 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 725
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- 1090
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $47k
Davis & Elkins College
Elkins, West Virginia · Remote town · 104 mi to Charleston
- Students
- 661
- Admission
- 94%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $43k
William Peace University
Raleigh, North Carolina · Large city · 1 mi to Raleigh
- Students
- 666
- Admission
- 94%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1170
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $47k
Colleges near Ferrum College
Patrick & Henry Community College
Martinsville, VA · Public · Associate · 1,350 students
Virginia Western Community College
Roanoke, VA · Public · Certificate · 3,898 students
Galen Health Institutes-Roanoke
Roanoke, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 315 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Roanoke
Roanoke, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 169 students
Roanoke College
Salem, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,767 students
American National University
Salem, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 630 students
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
Blacksburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Hollins University
Roanoke, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 665 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














