What type of university it is
Jacksonville State University is a public four-year university located in Jacksonville, Alabama, in Calhoun County. It is within the Anniston-Oxford metropolitan area, although that does not mean the campus is in the center of that city: the census code places it in a suburb, within the urbanized area but outside the principal city. If your child were considering living at home and commuting every day, I recommend something simple: drive the route on a weekday at the exact time they would have class. The real travel time is almost never what the map shows.
Federally, the highest level the institution reports offering is the doctorate, and it is classified as an institution that awards degrees primarily at the bachelor's level or above. That is a general institutional fact; it does not tell you whether the specific major your child is interested in exists or whether it connects to graduate study. That must be verified program by program.
The Carnegie Classification, which organizes the country's universities according to what they do, describes it as a master's university with large programs, medium size, and primarily residential: in its most recent measurement, between 25 and 49 out of every 100 degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing. It is also a school that receives many transfer students—Carnegie places it among those receiving more incoming transfers in its category. If your child plans to arrive here after studying somewhere else, this is exactly what you should ask in writing: which courses will count and which will not. The label does not tell you how many credits they arrive with or how many they lose along the way.
One note worth clarifying right away: Jacksonville State University has none of these three federal designations: it is not a historically Black college or university, it is not a tribal college or university, and it is not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 universities in this national directory, 138 have one of the three. Jacksonville State not being on that list does not tell you which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what cultural centers and student organizations exist today.
Who else is in the classroom with your child
This is where the numbers begin to paint a specific community. In fall 2023, Jacksonville State University reported that 5 out of every 100 undergraduate students are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority: compared with 519 similar selective public schools, it falls in the lowest quarter of the group. Having few Latino students does not make the school bad, and having many would not make it good by itself. The figure tells you who is enrolled, and nothing more. If your child will be among the few, it is worth asking during the visit what student groups and supports exist, and speaking with someone who is already there. The number describes the entire school; their specific major may look different.
The rest of the picture: there are more women than men—59 out of every 100—adult students ages 25 to 64 are a minority (11 out of every 100), and a little more than half of new students, 73 out of every 100, came from Alabama when they applied.
In scale, Jacksonville State had 9,672 students enrolled in the most recent official count: neither small nor huge, in the 5,000 to 9,999 range, one of the most common among its peers. Of that total, 8,378 are undergraduates and 1,294 are graduate students: it is primarily a bachelor's-degree school. Being large does not mean more options, and being small does not mean more attention for your child. What matters is asking about the specific major, not the entire school.
How the academic year works and what prior credit it accepts
The calendar uses semesters: two long terms, about 15 weeks each. Jacksonville State reported accepting credit for AP exams and also what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—independent study, adult courses, work experience, portfolios, licenses, certifications, or military or professional opportunities. It also reports accepting credit for military training, and enrolls high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth that I cannot soften: the school reporting that it accepts AP does not mean it gives credit for every exam. We do not know the scores it requires or how many credits it awards, or whether those credits apply to your child's exact major. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget the savings until you have it in hand.
As for degrees: between July 2022 and June 2023, the university awarded 1,409 bachelor's degrees across 20 career families. The largest was health professions, with 23 out of every 100 degrees that year—no other area exceeded it, but it does not dominate the total either. It is a broad, distributed offering, not concentrated in a single area. Even so, 20 families with activity are not 20 specific majors: each family groups several programs. Verify the exact program your child is interested in.
The ratio of students to instructional staff is 19 to 1. Compared with similar schools, it falls in the highest quarter—that is, the ratio is among the largest in its group. This does not tell you the actual size of a first-year classroom: it is an institutional calculation, not a direct measure of classes.
Reported academic opportunities
Jacksonville State reports offering study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, and state preparation and approval pathways for teacher certification. These are opportunities the institution reports having available; how each is accessed and to what extent must be asked directly.
What the admissions process is like
Jacksonville State does not have open admission: there are factors it reviews before saying yes. Of the nine considerations this report asks about, it marked three as required: the high school transcript, the high school grade-point average, and the English-proficiency exam for those to whom it applies. The list of what it does not consider is longer: class rank, course plan, personal essay, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or competency examination, work experience, and family legacy. Even if they are submitted, the report says they do not enter the admission decision.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English-proficiency exam applies to them and what would waive it. It is one of those things discovered too late if you do not ask in time. The undergraduate application fee is $35.
In the 2023 cycle, of 12,008 first-time applicants, 9,152 received an offer of admission: 76 out of every 100. It is an accessible rate, middle of the pack compared with similar schools. Viewed the other way: 2,856 applicants did not receive an offer, so the application scale is also high on the side of those who do not get in. Your child has a real reason to apply, and also a reason to put together a complete, timely application. Still, this figure is from one cycle, not a fixed rule of the institution. When it is time for your child to apply, check the number for the applicable year again.
Now comes a figure that confuses many families if it is not explained well: of every 100 admitted students, only 20 ended up enrolling at Jacksonville State that fall. The other 80 had a place and did not take it. Do not read it as a blemish on the school—the federal record does not say why each person made the decision they made. And above all: what others decided does not tell you what they will offer you. Wait for your letter with the net price, which is what the year will actually cost. With that number in hand, you decide whether this school remains on the list.
Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are optional. Of the students who enrolled, only 6 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and among them the middle half scored between 490 and 620 in reading and writing, and between 480 and 640 in mathematics. These ranges are for 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 the score influenced the admission decision.
On transfers: many arrive, many leave
There is a real tension here worth seeing directly. On one hand, in fall 2023, 476 undergraduate students arrived who entered Jacksonville State for the first time after studying at another institution: that is a high inflow. On the other hand, following the first-time, full-time cohort that entered in 2017, 281 students—25 out of every 100—transferred to another school without completing their degree here, within 150% of normal time. It is a high proportion compared with similar schools.
There is a calculation almost no one sees, and it matters here: a student who transfers does not appear as a Jacksonville State graduate, even if they finish their degree at another university. Keep this in mind when we look at the graduation rate later. And many students changing schools does not mean things went badly for them—the report counts the change, not the outcome or the reason.
What it costs: two very different prices
At Jacksonville State University, among 623 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and paid the in-state or district rate whose records reported family EFC income below $30,000, the average net price was $13,268. Among 212 students from the same population with family EFC income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $16,202; among 179 students with family EFC income above $110,000, $18,079. For dependent students, the range adds their parents' income and their own.
Between the average for the lowest-income range (623 students) and that for the highest range (179 students), there is a difference of $4,811. Among first-year students who received any grant, the average was $14,511.
Among the 519 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.
The income ranges in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution they use the in-state or district rate. The overall average with grants, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask before applying.
How it is paid for: scholarships, Pell, and loans
Most students receive some aid that does not have to be repaid: 87 out of every 100 at Jacksonville State receive some scholarship or grant, and among those who receive it, the annual average was $8,270. Compared with similar schools, it is in the quarter where scholarships and grants reach more students.
The federal Pell Grant, aimed at families with demonstrated financial need, went to 51 out of every 100 students: half or more. Applying for this aid here is not unusual or limited to a few people.
Now the other side of the coin, and I will not soften this number: 69 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal loan in academic year 2022-23. It is the majority, and financing with debt is common here. The loan averaged $5,467 per year among those who took it. If your child borrowed something similar each year during the program's four years, the total would be around $21,868, not including interest. Compared with similar schools, Jacksonville State is among those with more students holding federal loans.
That number—$21,868—is decided before the first signature, not at the end. A loan being common here does not decide whether your child will need one: that comes from their actual aid letter and the difference between the net price and what the family can pay. If debt appears in the letter, request the estimated monthly payment before accepting it. And keep in mind that this average is only for the student's federal loans in one year: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign, bank or credit-card debt, or the total debt with which a student graduates.
The institution also reports a tuition installment-payment plan as a mechanism for managing costs.
Campus life, format, and support
Jacksonville State has its own housing and does not require all full-time, first-time students to live there—that denies a universal requirement; it does not say that no program has one. The reported maximum housing capacity is 2,607 students. It also offers meal plans, but the number of meals per week varies by plan. Having rooms does not guarantee an available bed: request in writing the year's rate, the application deadline, and whether a space is guaranteed or you will be placed on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC: the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army. The Navy and Air Force are not marked. Not confirmed does not mean impossible—it means you must ask directly and confirm whether the program is completed on this campus or another one.
In sports, Jacksonville State competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA. The institution reports NCAA or NAIA membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. If your child is interested in competing, write directly to the coach for that sport and ask about roster space, division, and athletic scholarship.
Regarding distance education: it is offered at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the most recent count, 15 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load online, and 85 took at least one in-person class. The university also reports having at least one complete program that can be completed entirely through distance education, although the figure does not confirm at which level or in which exact major: that must be verified directly.
The library operates with hired staff and spending above the $100,000 threshold recorded by the federal government, with physical and digital materials and interlibrary loan. That threshold is only the floor the government asks about: it does not guarantee specific databases for your child's major. Ask by major name.
The institution also reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for both current students and alumni, child care on campus, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military personnel, a student veterans organization, and a web page of services for people with disabilities.
Who stays and who finishes
Here we arrive at the numbers that weigh most heavily in a family decision, and I am going to tell you without embellishment.
Of the cohort that entered full time in fall 2022, 64 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. It is among the lowest results compared with similar schools: nine out of every ten similar schools retained a higher proportion. The source does not distinguish how many of those 64 are still studying and how many have already finished, nor does it explain the destination of the other 36.
On graduation: of students who entered a bachelor's program full time in 2017, 51 out of every 100 had graduated from Jacksonville State six years later. It is almost half and half. At four years—the timeframe most families budget for—the figure is only 32 out of every 100, 19 points lower. That gap tells you something concrete: a substantial share of those who graduate take a fifth year, and that has a real cost. Before deciding, ask how long the exact major your child is interested in usually takes to complete and how its required courses are scheduled. Compared with similar schools, the six-year rate is below the middle of the group.
A different cohort, which follows students for eight years and includes both those who entered for the first time and those who already had prior college experience, shows that 54 out of every 100 had a Jacksonville State degree or certificate at the end of that period. Among students with a Pell Grant, the figure was 51 out of every 100, six points below those who did not receive one. IPEDS also reports that 20 out of every 100 in that cohort had an unknown enrollment status at the cutoff—the report simply could not determine whether they remained enrolled somewhere, which does not mean they dropped out.
I want to be clear about something: none of these numbers tells you what will happen to your child. They are aggregate results for thousands of students with circumstances the report does not capture. What they do tell you is how common it is to finish on time here, and that is real information for building the payment plan and academic plan with open eyes.
What this means for your plan
You now know an important piece: what kind of university Jacksonville State University is, what it really costs based on your family's income, how accessible its admissions process is, and how likely, according to the data, a student is to stay and finish there.
That piece does not decide anything by itself. It lacks what your child wants to study and what they have already built to get there. From those three pieces together—the university, the student, the family—a plan is born.
If you are just putting together the college list, ask your child what they want to study and how far away they imagine living. If Jacksonville State is already among the finalists, request the letter with the net price before comparing it with any other option, and ask directly about what this article cannot know: the specific major, housing, the English exam if it applies, and your child's prior credit. None of that is resolved by reading national figures. It is resolved by asking in writing, on time, before signing.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from data reported by Jacksonville State University to IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) of the United States Department of Education, corresponding mainly to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, as indicated with each figure. Best College Aid does not represent Jacksonville State University or any government agency; this article is an independent explanation of public information.