Private nonprofit · University
Virginia Union University
Richmond, Virginia · Midsize city
- 98.0%
- Admit rate
- $13,235
- Avg net price
- 34%
- Graduation rate
- $38,275
- Median earnings
Virginia Union University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Richmond, Virginia (midsize city setting), enrolling 1,203 undergraduates. It is a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It has a Baptist religious affiliation.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Virginia Union University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 98.0%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 850–885
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 2.60
Enter a test score to see where you land against Virginia Union University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Virginia Union University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital city of the U.S. state of Virginia. After the first permanent English-speaking settlement was established at Jamestown, Virginia, in April 1607, Captain Christopher Newport led explorers northwest up the James River to an inhabited area in the Powhatan Nation, which takes its name from the location Pawat-hanne, or "falls in a stream," referring to the falls in the James River at present day Richmond, specifically Powhatan Hill. The Virginia Historical Society and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts are on the Boulevard. Nearby is the Science Museum of Virginia, housed on Broad Street in the neoclassical former 1919 Broad Street Union Station. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Midsize city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 2 miles to Richmond, VA
- To the ocean
- 18 miles
- Nearest airport
- 8 miles to Richmond (RIC) · major hub
How Virginia Union University compares
More selective than 8% · #39 most selective of 43 in Virginia
Higher than 1%
Higher than 16% · #43 of 49 in Virginia
Higher than 23%
Higher than 11% · #45 of 51 in Virginia
Cheaper than 80% · #3 cheapest of 47 in Virginia
Lower than 5%
Lower than 28%
Larger than 43%
Percentiles compare Virginia Union University 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
- Undergraduate1,20373%
- Graduate44127%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women65354%
- Men55046%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White0.6%
- Black75%
- Hispanic1.3%
- Other or multiracial22%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 1,203
- Graduate enrollment
- 441
- Student–faculty ratio
- 16 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 69%
- First-generation students
- 41%
- Students over 25
- 17%
- Median family income
- $26,681
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $52,866
- Endowment
- $31,909,591
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 98.0%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 850–885
- SAT average
- 850
- SAT reading
- 450–475
- SAT math
- 400–410
- ACT composite
- —
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 2.60
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $17,450
- Room & board
- $11,016
- Total cost of attendance
- $29,075
- Average net price
- $13,235
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)
- 34%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 25%
- First-year retention
- 67%
- Transferred to another college
- 35%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $27,977
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $38,275
- Median debt at graduation
- $29,000
- Students with federal loans
- 71%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 14%
About 9% 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
- 667
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 55%
- Housing charge (year)
- $3,976
- Meal plan (year)
- $5,576
- Application fee
- $25
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II with football
- Football conference
- Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association
- Varsity athletes
- 343 (222 men · 121 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 (10)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 3.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 10
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 5
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,646 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.
$14,420/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.
Modest institutional aid: 41% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $7,799. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
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 296 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)
- $38,275
- Typical debt at graduation
- $29,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 76%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 36%
Typical debt would take roughly 7.6 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.
Women out-earn men by $8 (0%) 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
- 90°F
- Winter low
- 29°F
- Annual rain
- 45.5″
- Annual snow
- 8.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Richmond Intl AP, VA US station (8.2 mi from campus).
What Virginia Union 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 Virginia Union University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Virginia Union University side by side →
Bethune-Cookman University
Daytona Beach, Florida · Small city · 51 mi to Orlando
- Students
- 2,732
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $12k
- SAT
- 880
- GPA
- 2.6
- Earnings
- $39k
Grace Christian University
Wyoming, Michigan · Small city · 3 mi to Grand Rapids
- Students
- 716
- Admission
- 99%
- Net price
- $12k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $42k
Herzing University-Minneapolis
St. Louis Park, Minnesota · Small city · 7 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 740
- Admission
- 94%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $37k
Williams Baptist University
Walnut Ridge, Arkansas · Distant rural · 84 mi to Memphis
- Students
- 478
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 980
- GPA
- 2.9
- Earnings
- $38k
Columbia College
Columbia, South Carolina · Midsize city · 3 mi to Columbia
- Students
- 1,343
- Admission
- 94%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $41k
Goshen College
Goshen, Indiana · Small city · 23 mi to South Bend
- Students
- 773
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 950
- GPA
- 2.8
- Earnings
- $52k
Colleges near Virginia Union University
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA · Public · Bachelor's · 20,753 students
Union Presbyterian Seminary
Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Fortis College-Richmond
Richmond, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 502 students
Virginia Barber School
Richmond, VA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 7 students
University of Richmond
University of Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,980 students
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Richmond, VA · Public · Certificate · 5,586 students
Galen Health Institutes-Richmond
Richmond, VA · Private for-profit · Associate · 454 students
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
Richmond, VA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 591 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.











