Private nonprofit · College
Sweet Briar College
Sweet Briar, Virginia · Fringe rural
- 75.5%
- Admit rate
- $17,758
- Avg net price
- 52%
- Graduation rate
- $51,943
- Median earnings
Sweet Briar College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Sweet Briar, Virginia (fringe rural setting), enrolling 443 undergraduates. It is a women's college.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Sweet Briar College's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 75.5%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1100–1310
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.50
Enter a test score to see where you land against Sweet Briar College's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Sweet Briar College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Sweet Briar, Virginia
Sweet Briar College is a private women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, United States. The college is named after the former plantation of Elijah Fletcher and his descendants. Fletcher was a 19th-century teacher, businessman and mayor of Lynchburg, Virginia. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Fringe rural
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 51 miles to Roanoke, VA
- To the ocean
- 100 miles
- Nearest airport
- 17 miles to Lynchburg Regional Airport - Preston Glenn Field (LYH)
How Sweet Briar College compares
More selective than 54% · #18 most selective of 43 in Virginia
Higher than 67%
Higher than 44% · #29 of 49 in Virginia
Higher than 29%
Higher than 44% · #29 of 51 in Virginia
Cheaper than 61% · #10 cheapest of 47 in Virginia
Lower than 11%
Lower than 83%
Larger than 20%
Percentiles compare Sweet Briar 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
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White70%
- Black8.3%
- Hispanic6.3%
- Asian2.9%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 443
- Student–faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 31%
- First-generation students
- 23%
- Students over 25
- 1%
- Median family income
- $41,827
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $62,226
- Endowment
- $70,096,817
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 75.5%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1100–1310
- SAT average
- 1230
- SAT reading
- 560–670
- SAT math
- 540–640
- ACT composite
- —
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.50
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $26,160
- Room & board
- $15,230
- Books & supplies
- $1,400
- Total cost of attendance
- $43,898
- Average net price
- $17,758
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)
- 52%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 44%
- First-year retention
- 69%
- Transferred to another college
- 31%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $35,533
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $51,943
- Median debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Students with federal loans
- 47%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 70%
About 8% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 561
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 100%+
- Application fee
- Free
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%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 3.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 3
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (444 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.
$15,247/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.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 98% — get grant money from Sweet Briar College itself, averaging $12,388, which softens the sticker price.
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 154 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)
- $51,943
- Typical debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 52%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 59%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.2 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.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 87°F
- Winter low
- 26°F
- Annual rain
- 46.3″
- Annual snow
- 12.4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Tye Rvr 1 SE, VA US station (9.8 mi from campus).
What Sweet Briar 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 Sweet Briar College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Sweet Briar College side by side →
Earlham College
Richmond, Indiana · Distant town · 39 mi to Dayton
- Students
- 670
- Admission
- 73%
- Net price
- $25k
- SAT
- 1219
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $51k
Goucher College
Baltimore, Maryland · Small city · 8 mi to Baltimore
- Students
- 964
- Admission
- 78%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1248
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $53k
Ripon College
Ripon, Wisconsin · Distant town · 60 mi to Madison
- Students
- 688
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $20k
- SAT
- 1176
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $55k
Wisconsin Lutheran College
Milwaukee, Wisconsin · Large city · 6 mi to Milwaukee
- Students
- 943
- Admission
- 78%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1239
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $55k
Milligan University
Milligan, Tennessee · Midsize suburb · 51 mi to Asheville
- Students
- 818
- Admission
- 72%
- Net price
- $21k
- SAT
- 1189
- GPA
- 3.4
- Earnings
- $47k
Cornell College
Mount Vernon, Iowa · Fringe town · 13 mi to Cedar Rapids
- Students
- 1,086
- Admission
- 80%
- Net price
- $24k
- SAT
- 1234
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $53k
Colleges near Sweet Briar College
Randolph College
Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 658 students
Centra College
Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Associate · 219 students
Virginia University of Lynchburg
Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 125 students
University of Lynchburg
Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,577 students
Sylvain Melloul International Hair Academy
Lynchburg, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 175 students
Central Virginia Community College
Lynchburg, VA · Public · Certificate · 2,249 students
Liberty University
Lynchburg, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 50,012 students
Southern Virginia University
Buena Vista, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 936 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.














