Private nonprofit · University
Gardner-Webb University
Boiling Springs, North Carolina · Distant rural
- 77.2%
- Admit rate
- $17,674
- Avg net price
- 55%
- Graduation rate
- $48,039
- Median earnings
Gardner-Webb University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Boiling Springs, North Carolina (distant rural setting), enrolling 1,856 undergraduates. It has a Southern Baptist religious affiliation.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Gardner-Webb University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 77.2%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 975–1198
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.21
Enter a test score to see where you land against Gardner-Webb University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Gardner-Webb University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Boiling Springs, North Carolina
Boiling Springs is a town in Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States, in the westernmost part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, approximately 50 miles away from the city. People began settling the area around the namesake boiling springs in 1843. The first families to settle were the Hamricks, the Greenes and the McSwains. It was only appropriate that the settlement be named Boiling Springs. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant rural
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 47 miles to Charlotte, NC
- To the ocean
- 188 miles
- Nearest airport
- 39 miles to Greenville-Spartanburg (GSP)
How Gardner-Webb University compares
More selective than 50% · #33 most selective of 53 in North Carolina
Higher than 34%
Higher than 51% · #21 of 56 in North Carolina
Higher than 9%
Higher than 33% · #22 of 57 in North Carolina
Cheaper than 61% · #23 cheapest of 57 in North Carolina
Lower than 44%
Lower than 59%
Larger than 55%
Percentiles compare Gardner-Webb University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in North Carolina.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate1,85660%
- Graduate1,24340%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women1,25167%
- Men60533%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White49%
- Black16%
- Hispanic4.0%
- Asian0.9%
- Other or multiracial30%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,856
- Graduate enrollment
- 1,243
- Student–faculty ratio
- 12 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 37%
- First-generation students
- 35%
- Students over 25
- 25%
- Median family income
- $36,486
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $66,375
- Endowment
- $79,248,690
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 77.2%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 975–1198
- SAT average
- 1113
- SAT reading
- 495–608
- SAT math
- 480–590
- ACT composite
- 19–25
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.21
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $34,760
- Room & board
- $11,410
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
- Total cost of attendance
- $47,091
- Average net price
- $17,674
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)
- 55%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 48%
- First-year retention
- 55%
- Transferred to another college
- 36%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $43,996
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $48,039
- Median debt at graduation
- $24,222
- Students with federal loans
- 47%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 47%
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
- 1,368
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 74%
- Housing charge (year)
- $5,410
- Meal plan (year)
- $5,360
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FCS
- Football conference
- Big South Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 637 (407 men · 230 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 (14)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.5 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 4
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (3,104 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.
$13,769/year × about 4.2 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.
Gardner-Webb University discounts heavily: 99% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $20,279. 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 403 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)
- $48,039
- Typical debt at graduation
- $24,222
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 50%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 63%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
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 $5,548 (12%) 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
- 91°F
- Winter low
- 27°F
- Annual rain
- 50.4″
- Annual snow
- 4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Shelby 2 NW, NC US station (7 mi from campus).
What Gardner-Webb University 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 Gardner-Webb University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Gardner-Webb University side by side →
Buena Vista University
Storm Lake, Iowa · Remote town · 99 mi to Sioux Falls
- Students
- 1,366
- Admission
- 78%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $49k
Catawba College
Salisbury, North Carolina · Large suburb · 31 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 1,235
- Admission
- 75%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- 1096
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $49k
Grace College and Theological Seminary
Winona Lake, Indiana · Distant town · 37 mi to Fort Wayne
- Students
- 1,464
- Admission
- 82%
- Net price
- $20k
- SAT
- 1119
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $45k
Trevecca Nazarene University
Nashville, Tennessee · Large city · 2 mi to Nashville
- Students
- 1,737
- Admission
- 69%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1091
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $49k
Seton Hill University
Greensburg, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 25 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 1,492
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1117
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $52k
Ashland University
Ashland, Ohio · Fringe town · 45 mi to Akron
- Students
- 2,199
- Admission
- 76%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $53k
Colleges near Gardner-Webb University
Cleveland Community College
Shelby, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,097 students
Isothermal Community College
Spindale, NC · Public · Certificate · 1,169 students
Sherman College of Chiropractic
Boiling Springs, SC · Private nonprofit · Graduate
University of South Carolina-Upstate
Spartanburg, SC · Public · Bachelor's · 4,038 students
Converse University
Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,173 students
Wofford College
Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,816 students
Spartanburg Community College
Spartanburg, SC · Public · Certificate · 5,006 students
Spartanburg Methodist College
Spartanburg, SC · Private nonprofit · Associate · 1,116 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.














