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.

Private nonprofitSmall · 443 undergradsFringe ruralAccessible · 76% admitCold winters

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

Selectivity75.5%

More selective than 54% · #18 most selective of 43 in Virginia

SAT average1230

Higher than 67%

Graduation rate52%

Higher than 44% · #29 of 49 in Virginia

First-year retention69%

Higher than 29%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$51,943

Higher than 44% · #29 of 51 in Virginia

Average net price$17,758

Cheaper than 61% · #10 cheapest of 47 in Virginia

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio9 : 1

Lower than 83%

Undergraduate enrollment443

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.

1.3reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.7
Fondling
0.3
Burglary
0.3

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.

< $30k
$11,734
$30–48k
$12,568
$48–75k
$15,247
$75–110k
$20,188
$110k+
$24,710

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.

Est. total to a degree
$64,598

$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.

98%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$12,388
average award, among those who get one

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.

Solid value

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

HighLow
20°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.34.6JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Tye Rvr 1 SE, VA US station (9.8 mi from campus).

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 →

Colleges near Sweet Briar College

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.