Before we begin, one clarification that applies to the whole article: the data you are about to read come from official reports that the university submits each year to the Department of Education. They are real, they are verifiable, and they describe the institution as a whole, not the particular experience your child would have. With that in mind, let us hit the road.
Who this university is, in a few words
Biola University is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution located in La Mirada, California, within Los Angeles County. It is in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area, although the census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the core of the principal city. If your child plans to live at home and drive to campus, do not rely on what the map says. Drive the route yourself, on a weekday, at the exact time they would have class.
The system that classifies U.S. universities, known as Carnegie, places Biola among doctoral universities and professional-degree institutions. Using data from 2019-20, it describes it as a medium-sized, highly residential four-year school: at that time, at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or institution-affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time. That same system, using more recent data from 2021, places it among institutions that receive many transfer students. If your child plans to come here after studying somewhere else, that classification is a signal, not a guarantee: ask in writing which courses will count and which will not.
IPEDS —the federal data system that supports this entire article— records it as a degree-granting institution, primarily offering bachelor's degrees or higher levels, with the doctorate as the highest level it reports offering. That is a general institutional fact. It does not tell you whether the program your child is interested in reaches that level or whether undergraduate and graduate study are connected in that specific major. That must be asked program by program.
And one clarification worth making from the start: Biola is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this federal directory, 138 do carry one of those three designations. Biola's absence from that list does not say which students it serves or how your child would feel there. That requires asking what organizations and centers exist on campus today, and talking with someone who already studies there.
How many there are and who they are
In fall 2023, Biola University had 5,296 students enrolled in total. It is neither a tiny school nor one of the huge ones: it falls within the official band of between 5,000 and 9,999 students, and compared with 941 selective private four-year schools in this census, it is on the larger side —between one and three out of every ten in that group have more students than it does.
But that large number hides something important: 3,395 are undergraduates and 1,901 are graduate students. If your child is entering a bachelor's program, the number that matters is not the total. It is 3,395. A substantial part of the Biola community has already completed a degree and is doing something else.
Among undergraduates, 24 out of every 100 students reported being Hispanic or Latino in fall 2023. Compared with 941 selective private four-year schools reporting this figure, that places Biola in the top quarter: three out of every four schools in that group reported an equal or lower proportion. They are not a majority, but neither is this an unusual case. That said, this comparison has a real limit: peers are grouped by school type, not by state, and that matters here —California generally has a larger Latino population than the national average, so the comparison does not account for that geographic reality.
There are more women than men among undergraduates: 59 out of every 100. Students ages 25 to 64 are a minority, 8 out of every 100 —this is, overwhelmingly, a school of young students recently out of high school. And slightly more than half of incoming students, 65 out of every 100, already lived in California when they applied.
How the year is organized and what it recognizes that your child already brings
Biola operates on semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. That means consistent dates for everyone, without calendar surprises.
The university stated in its report that it recognizes credit from AP exams and also what IPEDS calls credit for life experience —learning acquired through independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, prior licenses or certifications, or military or professional opportunities—, and it also reports accepting credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth I cannot soften: the university's statement that it accepts AP does not mean it will award credit for every exam. The report does not say how many points it requires or how many credits it awards, nor whether those credits count toward your child's specific major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
What can be studied there
In the most recent year reported, Biola awarded 816 bachelor's degrees, distributed across 21 academic program families (what the government calls CIP families). No family accounted for a large slice of the pie: the most popular was visual and performing arts, and even that represented only 18 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. Compared with 942 selective private schools reporting this figure, Biola falls in the quarter with the most program families represented in its bachelor's-degree detail.
Put another way: the offerings are fairly spread out, not concentrated in two or three flagship majors. But be careful not to read too much into this. 21 families with at least one row in the report are not 21 active majors or 21 families with degrees awarded —some rows may report zero. Verify the exact program your child is interested in, by name, directly with the university.
The reported student-to-faculty ratio is 14 to 1. It sounds low in the abstract, but compared with 941 similar schools of the same type, Biola falls in the quarter with the highest ratio. Both things are true at the same time: the number looks small in a vacuum, and for its type of school, it is on the high side. This number also does not tell you the actual size of first-year classes —that is not in the report, and you need to ask directly.
The institution also reports structured pathways such as study abroad and routes to teacher certification, including state approval for initial certification. The fact that these opportunities are reported confirms that they exist as declared structures; it does not tell you the level of access, capacity, or quality your child would have within them.
Getting into Biola: what it requires and how selective it is
Biola does not have open admission. There are specific components it reviews before saying yes. Of the nine considerations this report measures —not counting standardized tests or legacy status—, four are required: the high school transcript, high school GPA, personal essay, and English-proficiency examination when applicable.
And here is something worth emphasizing because it changes the preparation strategy: the list of what the university stated it does not consider is longer than the list of what it does consider. It does not weigh class rank, having completed the recommended course of study, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency examination, work experience, or whether a family member studied there. If your child submits any of that, the report says it does not enter the admission decision —although it does not clarify whether someone reviews it for another purpose.
The central message for your child is simple and concrete: at this university, it is not enough to gather documents. The essay is required. They have to write, and write well. Start it in the summer, not during the week of the deadline —the first draft is almost never the one that gets submitted. The published undergraduate application fee is $45.
In the 2023 cycle, Biola received 4,003 first-time applications and offered admission to 2,405. That is 60 out of every 100 —or, viewed the other way, 1,598 applicants did not receive an offer. Compared with 942 selective private schools in this census, Biola is on the lower-acceptance side: seven out of every ten in that group, or more, accepted a greater percentage of their applicants. It is not an automatic process, and it is not a lottery. The application is reviewed.
But admission is not the same as enrollment. Of every 100 students Biola admitted for the first year of 2023, only 31 ultimately enrolled there. The other 69 had the letter in hand and chose somewhere else. Compared with its peers, that rate of 31 out of every 100 puts it on the high side —at most similar schools, a smaller share of admitted students stays. This number does not measure how difficult it is to get in; it measures what other families decided after receiving the letter. When yours arrives, do not let this percentage decide for you: place the admission letters side by side and compare net price, major, and distance before deposit day.
The SAT and ACT are optional at Biola. Among first-time students who enrolled, 26 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores; among them, the middle half scored between 580 and 690 in reading and writing, and between 550 and 670 in mathematics. Those numbers describe students who were already enrolled and chose to submit their scores —they are not a minimum or a guarantee, and they do not prove that anyone's score was used in the admission decision.
Regarding transfers: in fall 2023, 246 undergraduate students came to Biola for the first time after studying at another institution. Compared with similar schools, that number places it in the upper half. What we do not know, because the file left it blank, is what percentage of those who begin at Biola transfer out. That does not show that no one does; it simply is not reported here.
The list price and what families actually pay
At Biola University, among 72 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 $23,001. Among 66 students from the same population with family EFC income of $48,001 to $75,000, it was $25,038; among 123 students with family EFC income above $110,000, it was $35,263. For dependent students, the band adds their parents' income and their own.
Between the average for the lower-income band (72 students) and the average for the higher-income band (123 students), there is a difference of $12,262. These are group averages, not a prediction of your family's price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $30,510.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, this one falls in the most expensive quarter for lower-income families. That does not mean it should be ruled out. It means you need to request the aid letter before deciding.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, placing yours correctly comes first. 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 district rate. The overall average with grants, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants. The one that matters is the aid letter you receive.
The aid that does arrive, and the debt that does too
95 out of every 100 degree-seeking Biola students receive some scholarship or aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something here is the norm, not the exception. Among those who received it, the average was $25,493 per year —a large figure, but an average, not your offer. Within that number are students who received much more and others who received much less.
The Pell Grant —federal aid for low-income families— reached 26 out of every 100 students.
Now for the loan part, and it is worth being direct here: in academic year 2022-23, 45 out of every 100 Biola undergraduate students received a federal loan. That is more than four out of every ten. Compared with similar schools, that proportion puts it on the lower side —seven out of every ten similar schools, or more, had a higher proportion of students with debt. Even so, financing with debt is common here. Of those who borrowed, each received $6,670 on average that year. If your child borrowed something similar in each of the program's four years, the total would be around $26,680, not counting interest, and not including Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign, or private debt.
That number —the approximate $26,680 over four years— is the kind of figure worth deciding before the first signature, not afterward. And here too Biola reports a concrete mechanism to ease the pressure: an installment tuition-payment plan.
Campus life, beyond the classroom
Biola does have its own housing, with capacity for 2,773 students on or off campus. It is not required for all first-time students —the university answered that it does not require everyone to live there—, although that does not rule out a specific program requiring it. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of weekly meals in the largest plan. The existence of the option does not guarantee a spot: ask in writing for the year's rate, the application deadline, and whether you are guaranteed space or placed on a waiting list.
For those seeking the military route, Biola reports ROTC in two branches: Army and Air Force. Navy is not marked. The fact that it is reported does not mean the program is physically taught on this campus —confirm that by name before building a plan around it.
In athletics, Biola competes in and is affiliated with the NCAA —it reports membership specifically in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. The affiliation belongs to the school, not your child: if they are interested in playing, write directly to the coach for that sport and ask about roster space, division, and whether athletic scholarship aid is available.
Distance education exists at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in the fall count only 7 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes that way. The vast majority, 93 out of every 100, took at least one in-person class.
The library has employed staff and its annual spending exceeds the threshold of $100,000 that the government records as a benchmark for a robust operation. It has physical and digital collections, as well as interlibrary loan. That does not tell you whether it has databases specific to your child's major —that must be asked by program name.
And in general support, Biola reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services upon graduation, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program, a point of contact for veterans and their families, a student veterans organization, and a webpage dedicated to disability services.
Those who stay, those who graduate
Here is one of the strongest data points in the entire report. Of the students who entered Biola for the first time, full time, in fall 2022, 85 out of every 100 were still enrolled there or had already graduated one year later. Compared with 930 selective private schools, that figure places it in the upper part of the group. It is a strong signal that those who begin at Biola, for the most part, do not leave.
But a high retention figure combines two different groups —those still studying and those who have already finished—, and the report does not separate how many are in each.
Regarding graduation: of 888 students who began bachelor's study in 2017, full time and for the first time, 611 had graduated from Biola within six years. That is 69 out of every 100. At four years, the figure falls to 55 out of every 100 —a difference of 14 points showing that an important share of students needs that extra time to finish. Compared with 920 similar schools, Biola is above the group's median.
It is important to be honest about the limits of this number: it tracks only those who entered for the first time and full time. It does not include those who arrived as transfers or those who began part time. And the available data do not allow us to fully reconstruct what happened to the 31 out of every 100 who did not graduate from Biola within that time frame —an absent line does not equal dropping out, transferring, or pausing. It simply is not in the report.
A longer look, at eight years, at a different cohort that entered between 2015 and 2016 —including both first-time students and those who already had prior postsecondary experience— shows that 69 out of every 100 had a Biola degree or certificate as of August 2023. Among those who received a Pell Grant, that figure falls to 62 out of every 100 —eleven points below the group without Pell. That gap deserves a direct question to the university: what counseling, emergency aid, and scholarship-renewal support exists specifically for Pell students, and have them answer in writing.
What comes next
You now know Biola University in a depth no brochure would have given you: you know how its year is organized, what it requires for admission, what its list price is and what families with different incomes end up paying, how many stay and how many graduate, and what concrete supports exist on campus.
This is one piece of the plan, even if it is a solid one. What comes next is not in any federal report: what your child wants to study, how far from home they are willing to live, and what your family can pay without compromising what comes afterward. That combination —the university, the student, and the reality at home— is what builds a real plan. The numbers you just read do not decide for you. They give you, for the first time, firm ground to decide with your eyes open.
Source note: the information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and reports that Biola University submits to the U.S. Department of Education, primarily from cycles 2022-23 and 2023-24, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Biola University or the U.S. government; this article organizes and explains public data for informational purposes.