What kind of school it is, in one sentence
Gettysburg College is a private, nonprofit, four-year college classified by the Carnegie system as having an undergraduate arts and sciences focus. It is in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Adams County, in a setting the federal government classifies as a town rather than a large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, think of this as part of the budget and the plan: where your child will live, how they will get there, and how often you will see them. This information only identifies the school’s location; it does not calculate your travel or transportation costs.
Carnegie also labels it “highly residential”: at least half of its degree-seeking students live in institution-provided housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attend full time. It also places Gettysburg in its most selective admissions group. Pay attention to that phrase: “more selective” is a classification label, not an acceptance rate. We will look later at the actual number admitted, and you should see it before your child builds a college list.
The highest level the institution reports offering is a master’s degree, and it is classified as an institution that awards primarily bachelor’s degrees or higher-level credentials. That does not tell you whether your child’s specific major is offered here or whether it connects to a graduate program—you need to ask directly.
One point worth making clear: Gettysburg College is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. Gettysburg’s absence from that list says nothing about which students it serves or how your child would feel there. Ask about that during the visit: what cultural centers exist and which student organizations are active today.
A small community, and who makes it up
Gettysburg College had 2,895 students enrolled in the official fall count, a mid-sized enrollment compared with similar schools. But that overall number includes graduate students: 2,216 are undergraduates and 679 are graduate students. If your child is entering a bachelor’s program, the number that matters is 2,216, not the total.
Of those undergraduate students, 11 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. That is a small minority, although it is above the midpoint among the 941 similar selective private schools that report this information. It is not a reason by itself to remove the school from the list, but it does suggest a specific question to ask during the visit: what is available for Latino students, such as a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the admissions office who speaks Spanish.
The campus is nearly evenly divided between men and women: 51 out of every 100 are women. And here is something worth knowing if your family does not live in Pennsylvania: fewer than 25 out of every 100 first-time students were permanent residents of that state—just 22 out of every 100. Most come from elsewhere. That does not measure distance or transportation costs, but if it applies to your family, it is a sign that you need to sit down and calculate that budget using actual travel arrangements, not just tuition.
How academic life is structured
The academic calendar uses semesters, two terms of about 15 weeks. The institution accepts credit for AP exams, but it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. Saying that it accepts AP credit does not mean it awards credit for every exam: this information does not say what score is required or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific major. Request a written transfer-credit evaluation before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
In the most recently reported year, Gettysburg awarded 573 bachelor’s degrees across 18 fields of study. The largest, social sciences, accounted for 26 out of every 100 degrees—no other field surpassed it, but it does not make up the bulk of the degrees either. The range of offerings is broad, and among the 942 similar schools reporting this information, Gettysburg is in the top quarter for the number of degrees awarded each year. Eighteen fields with rows in the report do not mean eighteen exact majors: each field groups several programs, so you should verify the specific program that interests your child.
The official student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 10 to 1, a low figure compared with similar schools. It is an aggregate number; by itself, it does not tell you the actual size of a class or guarantee more personal attention. But it is still a signal worth keeping in mind.
The institution also reports structured academic opportunities: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, and pathways to teacher certification, including state approval of the program. If your child is interested in any of these paths, this is a good starting point for asking more questions.
Getting in: what it requires and who is admitted
Gettysburg does not have an open-admissions policy. Of nine possible considerations, it identifies six as required: high school record, grade point average, the specific college-preparatory course requirements, a personal essay, letters of recommendation, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. It is a lengthy application. The published fee is $60. The essay matters: have your child begin it during the summer, not during the week before the deadline. The first draft is never the one that gets submitted.
Now for the numbers that truly define the terrain:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| First-time applicants (2023) | 7,123 |
| Received an offer of admission | 3,384 (48 out of every 100) |
| Of those admitted, enrolled | 18 out of every 100 |
48 out of every 100 applicants received an offer. That puts Gettysburg on the selective side compared with similar schools: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, admitted a higher percentage. And that percentage applies to the entire school—IPEDS does not report how many applicants are admitted to each major, so if your child is pursuing a specific program, request that information directly from admissions.
Here is something I want to tell you plainly: of every six students who receive a yes from this school, about one ultimately enrolls there. The other five had an offer and did not accept it. Do not read that as a mark against the school—the federal record does not say why each person chose what they chose. What I can tell you is this: what others decided does not tell you what the school will offer your family. Wait for your financial aid letter with the net price. With that number in hand, and not before, decide whether this school stays on the list.
The SAT and ACT are not required here. Among those who enrolled and submitted SAT scores (34 out of every 100, a high share compared with similar schools), the middle half scored between 630 and 720 in reading and writing, and between 610 and 740 in mathematics. Those numbers are for students who enrolled, not for all applicants. That 630 is not a minimum, and that 720 does not guarantee anything either.
Regarding transfers: of the cohort that entered in 2017, only 14 out of every 100 are recorded as having transferred to another school within the reporting period—a low share compared with similar schools. Few transfer students arrive as well: only 14 students entered through that route in the fall of 2023. If your child would arrive as a transfer student, or if you are considering that route as a backup plan, ask in writing, with the course list in hand, how many credits would be accepted before your child makes the move.
The listed price, without hedging
At Gettysburg College, among 65 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 $14,666. Among 46 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $22,407; among 158 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $42,579. For dependent students, the band includes both their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $27,913 between the average for the lowest-income band (65 students) and the average for the highest-income band (158 students). These are group averages, not a prediction of your family’s price. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $35,729.
$14,666 was the average net price for families in the lowest-income band in the 2022-23 academic year. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you decide whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
Because the price changes so much from one income band to another, accurately identifying yours is the first step. 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 tuition rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The financial aid letter sent to you is what matters.
How it is paid for: grants, loans, and what that means
95 out of every 100 students receive some form of grant or scholarship 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 $43,319 for the year—real money, but not a price: that average includes people who received much more and people who received much less. Pell Grants, federal aid for low-income families, went to 21 out of every 100 students.
And now the figure I want you to pause and read carefully: 51 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 school year. More than half. Among those who borrowed, each received an average of $6,375 that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years required for the degree, the total would be around $25,500—before interest and before anything you or your child might borrow through other channels, such as Parent PLUS loans, which are not included in this calculation.
Financing with debt is common here. That number is not your number: your child’s number comes from the financial aid letter, not from this average. But it does tell you that the right question is not “Is aid available here?”—it is, and there is a lot of it—but “How much debt will we specifically need to make this work?” That calculation should happen before the first signature, not at the end. The institution also reports offering a tuition installment plan, in case it helps your family organize what you will pay out of pocket.
Campus life and what exists beyond the classroom
Gettysburg does offer its own housing and meal plans, although it does not require all first-time students to live there—that rules out a universal requirement, but does not confirm that no individual program has one. The reported maximum housing capacity is 2,263 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee a bed: ask in writing about the price, the deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or your child would join a waitlist.
In its most recent report, the institution did not indicate any ROTC opportunities. Of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide, 926 indicated that they offered one; Gettysburg was not among them. That does not prove there is no nearby option—it only means none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask about it directly before assuming it is unavailable.
Gettysburg does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. That is institutional membership, not a promise of a place on the team. If your child plays, contact the coach directly and ask in writing which division they compete in and whether that sport offers scholarships.
It offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but in the fall count no undergraduate student took an entire course load that way—zero out of every 100. It also reports at least one complete distance-learning program without specifying the level; if that interests your family, confirm it in writing for the specific major.
The library operates with paid staff, and its spending exceeded the $100,000 threshold tracked by the government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. The institution also reports support services including combined academic and career counseling, employment services, job placement for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, and a dedicated point of contact for military families.
How likely students are to stay and graduate
Here is one of the strongest signals in this entire record. Of the cohort that entered in the fall of 2022, 90 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. That is a high share compared with similar schools. It does not separate those who stayed from those who had already finished, and it does not say what happened to the other 10 out of every 100—but it is a sign that most do not leave during the first year.
The six-year graduation rate for the cohort that entered in 2017 was 83 out of every 100—among the highest compared with similar selective private schools. At four years, it falls to 74 out of every 100. And at eight years, following an earlier cohort, 82 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from Gettysburg; among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 80 out of every 100, nearly the same.
A high number is not a promise for your child. It is what happened to an earlier cohort. What is in your hands, and your child’s, is something much more concrete: making sure the credits are in order upon entry, and that from the first semester your child knows who the academic advisor is and when to register for the appropriate courses. No IPEDS figure guarantees that. You build it together.
What this article cannot tell you
I do not know whether your child wants to study here. I do not know how much your family can pay, where your child would come from, how far from home they are willing to live, or which exact major they want. Your family knows those things, and they are pieces no federal report can fill in for you.
You now know in detail one of the three pieces you need in order to decide: what Gettysburg College actually is and offers, according to its own official numbers. You still need to combine it with what your child wants and has accomplished, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. A real plan comes from that combination—not from this reading alone.
Whatever path you take, do not let it be chosen for lack of information. That part is in your hands.
Source: official IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) data from the United States Department of Education, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated for each figure. Best College Aid does not represent Gettysburg College or any government agency; this article organizes and explains publicly available information for families.