This article will not tell you whether this university is “good” or “bad.” That does not exist. What I can do is put in front of you what the U.S. federal government reports about it, without embellishing it or scaring you, so that you use the next half hour you spend researching it well.
What kind of school it is and where it stands
Jacksonville University is a private, nonprofit institution offering four-year programs or longer. It is in the city of Jacksonville, Florida, in Duval County, in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. That tells you something practical: if your child plans to live at home, looking at the map is not enough. Drive the route on a weekday, at the exact time of their classes. The time Google shows is almost never the real time.
The Carnegie system, which is how the government organizes the country’s universities according to what they do, classifies it as a master’s university with large programs and describes it as a medium-sized, highly residential four-year school: at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time. “Highly residential” is not the same as “affordable.” Living on campus is paid separately, and we will get to those numbers.
Carnegie also places it among institutions that receive many transfer students. If your child plans to come here after studying somewhere else, do not assume anything: get in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label “receives many transfers” does not tell you how many credits people bring in or how many are lost along the way.
IPEDS, the federal data system where every U.S. college reports the same information each year, says that the highest degree it offers is a doctorate and that it is primarily a bachelor’s-degree-or-higher institution. That is an institutional fact, not a promise about your child’s specific major. If they are interested in a program that connects undergraduate and graduate study, ask about it by name.
One more thing before continuing: Jacksonville University 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 directory, 138 have one of those three designations. Not having them says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. Ask directly: what student organizations exist today, what cultural centers exist, and, if possible, speak with someone who already studies there.
How many students there are and who they are
In the reported fall term, Jacksonville University had 3,957 enrolled students: it is a medium-sized school. But that number mixes two different worlds. 2,662 are undergraduates and 1,295 are graduate students—people who have already completed a degree and returned for another credential. If your child is beginning their first degree, the number that matters is 2,662, not the total.
Among undergraduates, 16 out of every 100 students reported themselves as Hispanic or Latino. Compared with 941 similar selective private four-year schools, that places it in the top quarter: three out of every four schools in that group reported an equal or lower share. They are not a majority, but neither are they unusual. Keep in mind a real limitation: this comparison does not account for which part of the country the school is in, and Florida carries weight in that number.
There are also more women than men—60 out of every 100—and students ages 25 through 64 are a minority, just 14 out of every 100. It is mostly a campus of young people pursuing their first degree.
How the academic year is structured
The year at Jacksonville University is organized by semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each, with uniform dates for everyone.
The university reported accepting credit from AP exams and also what IPEDS calls credit for life experience—independent study, work experience, prior licenses or certifications, among other paths, and even credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in credit-bearing college courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is the hard truth: saying they accept AP does not mean they will give credit for every exam. It does not say what scores they require, how many credits they award, or whether those credits count toward your child’s specific major. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for what is studied there: in the most recently reported year, the university awarded 603 bachelor’s degrees across 20 career families. But the concentration is strong: health professions accounted for 235 of those 603 degrees, or 39 out of every 100. Compared with its peers, it is in the quarter that awards the most degrees per year. Having 20 families listed in the report does not mean there are 20 active majors with strong offerings in each one—some may have none. If your child is interested in something outside health, ask about the exact program, not the category.
The student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 13 to 1. That is a low figure in general terms, but compared with schools of the same type, it is above the median—higher than half of them. Both things are true at the same time. And keep in mind: this ratio does not tell you the actual size of a classroom. That is not in the data.
The university also reports structured opportunities: study abroad, a complete program offered only in the evenings or on weekends, and pathways for preparation and certification of elementary education teachers.
Getting in: what it requires and how selective it really is
Jacksonville University does not have open admission. There are items it reviews before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks two as required: high school GPA and an English-language proficiency examination for applicants who need one. Other items are not required but are considered if you submit them: the complete academic record, class rank, course schedule completed, personal essay, letters of recommendation, and whether someone in the family studied there. Regarding the last item: if that is not your situation, do not spend energy on it. Spend it on what is in your child’s hands. The application fee is $30.
Now for the real numbers on how difficult it is to get in. In the most recently reported cycle, 8,879 people applied for first-year admission and 5,087 received an offer of admission: 57 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, it is on the lower-selectivity side—seven out of every ten of those schools admitted a higher percentage of applicants. It is not an automatic process, nor is it a lottery. Applications are reviewed.
But here is a fact almost no family knows, and it changes the conversation: out of every 100 admitted students, only 15 end up enrolling. The other 85 had a place and did not take it. Compared with similar schools, this share is among the most common, neither high nor low. Do not read it as a stain—the fact that most admitted students do not enroll does not mean the school is bad; the federal record does not explain why each person made the decision they made. What it does tell you is this: what others did does not predict what your child will be offered. Wait for your own net-price letter. With that number in hand, you decide whether the 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 those who enrolled, only 24 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and among them the middle half scored between 570 and 640 in reading and writing, and between 540 and 620 in mathematics. Those ranges are for people who already enrolled and submitted scores—not all applicants, and they do not prove that scores were decisive. That 570 is not a minimum, and that 640 is not a guarantee of anything either.
And regarding transfers: following the first-time entering cohort that began in 2017, 30 out of every 100 transferred to another school without completing their degree here. Compared with similar schools, that is a share on the high side. It is worth keeping this in mind because it changes how everything that follows is read: a student who transfers does not count as a Jacksonville University graduate, even if they complete their degree somewhere else. And many students transferring does not mean they did poorly—the report counts the change, not the reason or the outcome.
Money: list price, real price
At Jacksonville University, among 114 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 $23,467. Among 77 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $22,141; among 156 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $30,566. For dependent students, the band adds their parents’ income and their own.
The difference between the average for the lower-income band (114 students) and that for the higher-income band (156 students) is $7,099. Among first-year students who received any scholarship, the average was $25,745.
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 you should rule it out. It means you should request the aid letter before deciding.
An average does not tell you how different the cases were within that band; with this data, it cannot be claimed that there were families far below or above the published figure. 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 scholarships, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional scholarships or grants.
How it is paid for: scholarships, loans, and other options
91 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some scholarship or aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something is normal here, not the exception. Among those who received it, the average was $31,547 per year. It is real money, but it is not a price: that average includes people who received much more and people who received much less. None of this is your offer. When your letter arrives, look at how much your family would have to pay out of pocket, and compare that number across schools—not the size of the discount.
The Pell Grant, which is federal aid for low-income families, went to 30 out of every 100 students.
Regarding loans: 48 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the reported year, and those who received one took out $6,943 on average that year. Financing with debt is common here. If your child borrowed something similar in each of four years, the total would be around $27,772, not including interest—and that is decided before the first signature, not at the end. This number covers only federal loans in the student’s name: it does not include what parents borrow separately, credit cards, or the total debt someone has when they graduate. That complete calculation is not in this report; you would have to build it yourself, adding each year.
The university also reports a prepaid tuition plan and an installment payment plan, if that helps organize family cash flow.
Campus life, sports, and support
Jacksonville University has its own housing, with reported capacity for 1,454 students on or off campus. Living there is not required for everyone—the institution explicitly said no for the general group—although that does not rule out a specific program requiring it. It also offers meal plans, but the number of meals per week varies by plan. Having housing does not guarantee a bed will be available when your child needs it: request in writing the yearly rate, the application deadline, and whether a space is guaranteed or there is a waiting list.
In sports, the university competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA, with membership confirmed in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. If your child plays something different, write directly to that sport’s coach and ask whether there is space on the team and whether athletic scholarships are available.
Regarding ROTC: the only branch confirmed in writing is Navy. Army and Air Force are not marked in this report. Not confirmed does not mean impossible—it means you need to ask directly.
The university offers distance education at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although only 5 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes at a distance; the other 95 take at least one in-person class. It also reports having at least one complete program available at a distance, although the report does not specify whether that program is undergraduate or graduate—confirm the exact major.
The library operates with paid staff and annual spending above the government-recorded threshold of $100,000, with physical and digital collections and interlibrary lending. Reported services include combined academic and career counseling, employment assistance for current students, placement for graduates, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for military families, a student veterans organization, and a published services page for people with disabilities.
They stay, they leave, they graduate: the numbers that are hardest to read
This is the chapter where it is most worthwhile to go slowly, because this is where families often draw conclusions the data do not support.
Retention. Of 700 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 527 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later: 75 out of every 100. Compared with similar schools, it is slightly below the middle of the group. This number does not separate those still studying from those who have already earned a degree, and it does not say what happened to the rest. One important clarification: someone who transferred to another university and is still studying there counts the same in this figure as someone who stopped studying altogether.
Six-year graduation. Of 574 students who entered in 2017, 327 graduated here within six years: 57 out of every 100. At four years, the figure drops to 45 out of every 100—a difference of twelve points, reflecting how many people need extra time. Compared with similar schools, it is below the middle of the group.
It is worth looking at the full breakdown of those 574 students, because it tells a more complete story than the percentage alone:
| Six-year outcome | Students |
|---|---|
| Graduated here | 327 |
| Transferred without completing here | 174 |
| Still enrolled without completing | 3 |
| “No longer enrolled” (unknown reason) | 70 |
That last group, the 70, does not count as proven failure. The “no longer enrolled” category does not say why they left, and it may include people who completed their degree after the measured period.
At eight years. Following a different cohort—1,339 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including full-time and part-time students—51 out of every 100 had a degree or certificate from this institution as of August 2023. Compared with similar schools, it falls in the bottom quarter. Among those who received a Pell Grant, the figure drops to 45 out of every 100—nine points lower than among those who did not receive it. If your family would qualify for Pell today, it is worth asking the school what specifically exists for that group: whether there is an assigned counselor, emergency assistance, and whether institutional aid renews every year. And ask them to answer you in writing.
What this article cannot tell you
With this information, we do not know what happens after someone graduates from Jacksonville University: earnings, employment, or debt upon leaving. That type of data requires another source and is not authorized here. We also do not know whether the specific program your child is interested in has a good reputation, good teachers, or the right environment for them. No federal report measures that.
How to put this together with your own situation
You now know, in considerable detail, one of the three pieces you need to decide: what Jacksonville University actually is and offers, according to its own reports to the government. You still need to combine it with what your child wants to study and what they have built so far, and with what your family can and is willing to pay. This article cannot give you either of those two pieces, because only you and your child have them.
If you are just building the list: ask what they want to study and how far away they imagine living while doing it. If it is already on the short list: complete the FAFSA and wait for the aid letter before ruling it out or falling in love with it. If the list price frightened you: remember that number is almost never what a family ends up paying, and the only way to know is to request it in writing.
You do not have to live your child’s college experience. You have to understand the money, support the big decisions, and not let them carry alone a system that the two of you are just learning to read.
Source note: the information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the U.S. Department of Education, using data reported primarily for the 2023 cycle and the 2023-24 academic year, except where a different period is indicated. Best College Aid does not represent Jacksonville University or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data and does not constitute individualized admissions advice.