Austin College Acceptance Rate, Admissions & Graduation

I came to this country at fourteen and earned my degree at a college where I was an “outsider.” I know what it is like to enter a place without the roadmap that other families have already learned. This article is that roadmap, applied to a single school: it does not tell you whether Austin College is right for your child, but it does tell you, using the official source from the United States government, what this college is, how much it costs, how it admits students, and what happens to the students who enroll there.

What Kind of School It Is and Where It Is Located

The Carnegie Classification system, which organizes the country’s colleges according to what they do, describes Austin College as a baccalaureate college focused on arts and sciences: small, four-year, and highly residential. “Highly residential” has a precise meaning: at least half of the degree-seeking undergraduate students lived, at the time of that count, in housing owned, controlled, or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full-time. Carnegie also places it in its selective-admissions group.

This is not a decorative detail. If your child is going to live on campus, room and board are almost never included in the number the school puts first in its brochure. Ask for them separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other.

Austin College is in Sherman, Texas, within Grayson County, in the Sherman-Denison metropolitan area. The census code places it within a city, but that tells you where it is, not what it takes to get there every day. If your child plans to live at home, do not trust the map: drive the route on a weekday at the exact time of their classes. The actual travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.

It is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. IPEDS—the federal data system to which every college in this country reports information—records a master’s degree as the highest level it reports offering and classifies it primarily as a school offering bachelor’s degrees or higher. That does not tell you whether your child’s specific major exists or whether it connects undergraduate and graduate study: confirm that program by program.

And here is something that applies to this entire article, not just this paragraph: do not reject or choose it based on the sticker price. Ask in writing how much your family would pay after scholarships and aid. That is the number that can truly be compared across schools.

One more note, simple but important: Austin College is not designated as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three labels. The fact that Austin College is not among them does not tell you which students it serves or how your child will feel on that campus. Investigate that by asking which organizations and cultural centers exist today and by speaking with someone who already studies there.

The Size of the Community and Who Makes It Up

Austin College had 1,136 students enrolled in the official fall count: 1,128 undergraduates and only 8 graduate students. It is primarily a bachelor’s-degree school, and it is midsized—with between 1,000 and 4,999 students. Compared with the 941 selective private four-year schools in this census that report the figure, it is on the smaller side: seven out of ten or more schools in that group have more students.

A simple truth is useful here and should not get lost among the percentages: being large does not mean more options, and being small does not mean more attention for your child in particular. What matters is asking about the specific major, not the size of the entire school.

As for who makes up this community, the central figure is this: 25 out of every 100 undergraduate students identified as Hispanic or Latino. At least one in four. Among the 941 selective private four-year schools that reported this figure, Austin College is in the top quarter: three out of four schools in that group reported an equal or smaller share. Being Latino on this campus would not be the exception.

But a high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support for Latino students. The figure tells you how many there are; it does not tell you whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, whether targeted tutoring is available, or whether those students complete their degrees at the same rates as everyone else. And it is the percentage for the entire school, not for the major that interests your child.

The rest of the picture: there are almost no adult students—only 1 out of every 100 is between 25 and 64 years old—and the undergraduate population is nearly evenly divided between men and women (52 out of every 100 are women). IPEDS does not report where entering students came from in this cycle: that information simply is not there.

How the Academic Year Is Structured

Austin College uses a 4-1-4 calendar: four courses during four months, one month with a single intensive course, and another four courses during the following four months. In its report, the school indicated that it accepts credit for AP exams, but it did not indicate that it awards credit for life experience, and it responded that it does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit.

Saying that it accepts AP does not mean that it awards credit for every exam at every score. The report does not say how many points are required or whether those credits apply to your child’s specific major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not budget for savings in time or money until you have it in hand.

As for its degree offerings, Austin College awarded 285 bachelor’s degrees in the reported year, distributed across 18 academic program families. The largest family was business and management, with 22 out of every 100 degrees—a notable share, but no family dominated the total: even the largest did not reach 30 out of every 100. The offerings are broad, not concentrated in a single direction. Eighteen families with rows in the report do not necessarily mean eighteen active majors with students enrolled today; one family may group several programs, and a row may report zero. Verify the exact program.

The ratio of students to instructional staff, with both measured as full-time equivalents, is 11 to 1. Compared with the 941 similar schools in this census, it falls below the group’s midpoint: it is a low aggregate ratio. But be careful: this is an institutional average, not the actual size of a classroom. By itself, it does not demonstrate that more staff are available to each student, and the file does not report the size of first-year classes.

The Academic Pathways the Institution Reports

Austin College reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, teacher-certification preparation below the postsecondary level, the ability to complete certain teacher-specialization areas at the institution itself, and state approval for initial teacher certification. These are structured pathways that the institution reports as available. Their presence in the report does not tell you how they work in practice for your child’s major: ask the school directly.

Getting In: What They Require and What Actually Happens

This is where the conversation becomes concrete, because this is where your child will invest real time.

Austin College does not have open admissions. Of nine possible admissions considerations—not counting standardized tests or legacy status—it marked four as required: the high school record, high school GPA, personal essay, and letters of recommendation. Put directly: gathering paperwork is not enough here. The essay is required, so your child has to write, and write well. Have them start in the summer, not the week of the deadline. The first draft is never the one that gets submitted. The published undergraduate application fee is $0.

In addition to the required materials, the school considers—if you submit them—your child’s class rank, whether they completed the college-preparatory course plan the school recommends, a formal demonstration of their abilities, work experience, and an English-proficiency exam when applicable.

Now for the numbers that define how competitive the process is:

47 out of every 100 is an admission rate that places it on the selective side: among the 942 selective private four-year schools in this census, seven out of ten or more accepted a higher percentage of their applicants. It is fine for this school to be on your child’s list. It should not be the only one. And this percentage is for the entire school: IPEDS does not report how many people enter each major, so if your child is pursuing a specific program, request that number directly from admissions.

Here is a figure that often surprises people and is worth stating plainly: of every 100 students admitted, only 12 ultimately enrolled. Of every 8 who receive a yes, about one ends up attending. The other seven had a place there and did not take it. Do not read this as a mark against the school—the federal record does not say why each person made their decision—but do not ignore it either: receiving an admission letter is not the same as deciding to attend, and what others decided does not tell you what the school will offer you. Wait for your own letter with the net price before deciding whether this school stays on the list.

As for standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Of the first-time students who enrolled, only 19 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score. Among them, the middle half scored between 590 and 680 in reading and writing and between 580 and 660 in mathematics. These are ranges for students who had already enrolled and chose to submit scores, not for all applicants, and they do not prove that the score was used in the decision to admit anyone. That 590 is not a minimum that must be reached, and that 680 is not a guarantee of anything either.

For anyone considering transferring in: in the fall of 2023, 42 undergraduate students entered Austin College after previously studying at another institution. This is a count of people, not a proportion, and it places the school in the lower half of its peer group by transfer-arrival volume. How many credits were accepted for those 42 students is another question to ask the school directly; the file does not include a transfer-out rate for this institution in this report, and that does not demonstrate that no one transfers out.

The Sticker Price and What Is Actually Paid

At Austin College, among 55 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $19,701. Among 33 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $22,351; among 56 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $27,503. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.

The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (55 students) and the highest-income band (56 students) is $7,802. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $24,777.

$19,701 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in the 2022-23 academic year. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the aid letter.

None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grants or scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The number that matters is the aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.

Scholarships, Federal Aid, and the Debt That Is Actually Recorded

Here is one of the highest figures in this entire report: 100 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some kind of grant, scholarship, or financial aid. That 100 is rounded—it means all or almost all, not necessarily every student without exception. Among those who received a grant or scholarship, the average was $33,729 for the year. That is real money, but it is an average: it includes people who received much more and people who received much less. What determines affordability is not the size of the discount they offer you, but the amount you have left to pay afterward.

Pell—the federal aid for low-income families—reached 30 out of every 100 students.

Now for the part I want to state without cushioning it: 52 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan during the 2022-23 school year. More than half. Among those who borrowed, each took out an average of $6,496 that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount each year during the four-year curriculum, the total would be around $25,984, not including interest. That calculation should be made before the first signature, not at the end.

This percentage describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow comes from their own financial-aid letter. And this average covers only federal loans in the student’s name for one year: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, credit-card debt, or the total debt someone has when graduating. That larger number is not in this report and must be calculated by adding each year.

Compared with the 942 selective private schools in this census, that share of students with loans is common: it is neither among the schools that finance the most through debt nor among those that finance the least. Financing with loans here is not the exception; it is normal. Calculate the full amount before signing anything.

The institution also reports an installment tuition-payment plan and participation in a Promise program, which are additional mechanisms for managing the cost. Ask about their specific terms.

Living There, Playing There, and What the School Reports as Support

Austin College has institution-controlled housing and does not require all first-time students to live there—that does not mean no program has that requirement, so confirm it for your child’s situation. It also offers meal plans with a fixed number of meals per week in its largest option. The reported maximum capacity of institutional housing is 1,198 students. The existence of a room does not guarantee an available bed: ask in writing for the year’s rate, the application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed a place or placed on a waiting list.

As for ROTC, Austin College did not mark any ROTC opportunity in its report, either in the general field or for any specific branch. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 did mark at least one. This school was not among them. The fact that it was not marked does not prove that no nearby pathway exists; it only means none was reported in that field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling the school out.

In athletics, Austin College does compete at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA—specifically, it reports membership for football, basketball, and baseball. This does not identify the division, available athletic scholarships, or whether there is a place on the team for your child. Ask the coach directly, in writing.

As for distance education, the school reports offering undergraduate distance-education courses, but in the fall count, 0 out of every 100 students took their entire course load that way—all took at least one in-person class. The institution also reported that it does not offer any complete program that can be finished entirely through distance education. Confirm the exact level and major in writing if this is relevant to your family.

The library operates with employed staff, and its annual expenditures exceed the federal threshold of $100,000. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that specific databases exist for your child’s major: ask using the program’s name.

Finally, the institution reports combined academic and career counseling services, employment services for current students, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program for veterans and their families, and a published web address for disability services.

What Happens to Those Who Enroll: Retention, Graduation, and the Eight-Year Count

This is perhaps the section that should matter most to you, because it tells you what happened to real students who have already attended.

Of a cohort of 330 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in the fall of 2022, 264 met the official retention criterion the following year: 80 out of every 100. That means they were still enrolled there or had already graduated. The other 66 fell outside that outcome, and the record does not distinguish between those who went to another school and those who stopped studying altogether. Compared with the 930 selective private schools in this census, that figure is slightly above the group’s midpoint: neither among the best nor among the worst, but right in the middle.

As for graduation, IPEDS tracked 331 students who entered in 2017, full-time and for the first time. After six years, 230 had graduated there: 69 out of every 100. After four years, the figure was already 65 out of every 100—only four points below the final outcome—which suggests that a substantial share of those who graduate do so within the standard four-year period. Compared with 920 selective private schools in this census, half the group or more reported the same or a lower proportion: Austin College is above the median.

But here is a hard truth that should not be softened: this rate tracks only students who entered for the first time and full-time. It does not include those who transferred in or those who began part-time. And the available data do not allow for a complete reconstruction of what happened to the 31 out of every 100 who did not graduate there within that period. The absence of a figure does not mean it is zero and does not authorize an assumption of transfer, pause, or withdrawal.

There is one final indicator, with a longer and more generous time frame: of a cohort of 380 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, 68 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school eight years later, by August 2023. IPEDS also reports that 27 out of every 100 still appeared without that credential from this school—although the exact definition of “still enrolled” has a methodological contradiction in the file that makes it impossible to state precisely how many were continuing at that exact time.

One figure is worth examining carefully if your family qualifies: among students who received a Pell Grant, 62 out of every 100 had graduated within eight years, nine points below those who did not receive Pell. Compared with 935 similar schools, Austin College’s overall eight-year figure is above the group median.

A family’s eligibility for Pell today does not determine your child’s individual outcome. But if your financial circumstances resemble those of a Pell recipient, it is worth asking the school directly and in writing: Is there an assigned counselor? Is emergency aid available? Does the institutional scholarship renew automatically every year, or must the student qualify again?

What Is Up to You, What Is Up to Your Child, and What Is Up to the School

It is Austin College’s responsibility to admit, deny, offer aid, and tell you clearly—if you ask in writing—what it will actually cost. You have seen what it reports: selective but not impossible, a community where being Latino is common, federal debt present among more than half of the student body, graduation above the median of its peers, and a high sticker price that drops significantly when actual aid is applied.

It is your child’s responsibility to write the essay early, decide which major to pursue, and take ownership of their part of the process. It is your responsibility to handle the money, documents, deadlines, and uncomfortable questions that your child does not yet know how to ask.

If your family has not yet completed the FAFSA, that is the first real step, not online research. If your child has already built a list and Austin College is on it, ask which major interests them and how far away they can imagine living while studying. And if you feel that you are running late, document what you have already done and what remains: it is more than you think.

You now understand in depth one of the three pieces you need to make a decision: what this college truly is and offers, according to its own report to the federal government. Combine it with what your child wants and has built, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. A real plan comes from that combination, not from any single piece.

Source note: the information in this article comes from data reported by Austin College to the United States Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), primarily corresponding to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24 as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Austin College or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public information to help families understand it.