Oglethorpe University Acceptance Rate, Admissions & Graduation

What kind of university it is, and where it is located

Oglethorpe University is a private, nonprofit, four-year undergraduate college focused on the arts and sciences. The government classifies it as “highly residential”: at the time of that measurement, at least half of degree-seeking students lived in institution-owned housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full-time. It also places the university in the selective-admission group.

What does this mean for you? It probably is not a school designed for your child to commute back and forth every day without becoming involved in campus life, although that does not rule out living at home if that is an option for your family. And it means something more practical: the cost of living there is almost never included with tuition in the glossy brochure. Ask for it separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other on your list.

It is in Atlanta, Georgia, in DeKalb County, within the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell metropolitan area. But the census code identifies it as suburban: within the urbanized area, outside the city’s core. Downtown Atlanta is not the same as its surrounding areas, and the only way to know what living there is like is to go see it. If your child plans to live at home and commute every day, drive that route yourself on a weekday, at the exact time of their classes. The time shown on the map is almost never the actual time.

As an institution, it awards degrees from the bachelor’s through the master’s level, although that institutional fact does not tell you whether your child’s specific major is offered there or whether it connects to a graduate program. That must be confirmed program by program. And one final note about identity: Oglethorpe University does not appear in government records with any of three special designations—it is not a historically Black university, a tribal university, or a land-grant institution. That says nothing about which communities it serves well or poorly. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist today, what student organizations are active, and better yet, speak with someone who is already there.

The size of the community, and who makes it up

Here is a fact worth stopping to read twice: 27 out of every 100 undergraduate students at Oglethorpe University identified as Hispanic or Latino. That is one in four, or more. And compared with 941 selective private four-year schools reporting this same information, it is among the highest: nine out of ten of those schools reported an equal or lower share. Being Latino on this campus would not be the exception.

But I want to be clear with you, because it is easy for a striking figure here to turn into a promise that it is not. A high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support for Latino students. The data counts how many there are. It does not say whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, whether targeted tutoring is available, or whether those students complete their degrees. It is the number for the entire school, not for the major your child is interested in. The figure gives you a question; it does not answer it.

The rest of the picture: there are more women than men (62 out of every 100), there are almost no adult students—only 4 out of every 100 are between the ages of 25 and 64—and 86 out of every 100 entering students came from the same state of Georgia. Above all, it is a young, local community.

As for size: 1,522 students in total, of whom 1,499 are undergraduates. It is midsized compared with similar schools, neither among the large ones nor the small ones. And here is a truth that applies to any university, not just this one: being large does not mean more options, and being small does not mean more attention for your child. Always ask about the specific major, never just about the school as a whole.

How academic life is organized

The year is divided into semesters, two periods of about 15 weeks. In its official report, the university stated that it accepts credit from AP exams, but it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. Saying that it accepts AP does not mean it grants credit for every exam: we do not know what score is required or how much credit is awarded. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.

In the latest year reported, the university awarded 234 bachelor’s degrees across 17 fields of study. The largest field was business and management, with 23 out of every 100 degrees—a notable share, but no single field accounted for the whole. With numbers this small, the count can move considerably from one year to the next. Ask for the latest three years of data for the exact program your child is interested in; do not rely on a snapshot of a single year.

Regarding the relationship between students and faculty: the official ratio is 14 students for each full-time-equivalent faculty member. On its own, that number sounds small. But compared with similar schools—private, selective, and four-year—it falls in the quarter with the highest ratio in that group. Both things are true at once: the number is low in absolute terms and high for this type of school. And keep in mind: this ratio does not tell you the actual size of a classroom. It is an institutional calculation, not a picture of a first-year classroom.

The university also reports two structured academic opportunities: study-abroad programs and a complete program that can be taken only during evenings or weekends.

What it takes to get in: admission, testing, and what happens after the letter

Here is where what probably interests you most begins. Oglethorpe University does not have open admission: it reviews parts of the application before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks four as required: the high school transcript, high school GPA, personal essay, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. Put simply, gathering documents is not enough here. Your child has to write an essay, no matter what.

There are other pieces that are not required but do count if you submit them: class rank, the high school course curriculum, letters of recommendation, a portfolio or skills test, work experience, and whether a family member attended the school. On that last point, I want to tell you something directly: if no one in your family attended Oglethorpe, do not spend a minute of energy on it. Spend that energy on what is within your child’s control. The application fee is $50.

The selectivity figures, in a table:

Sixty out of every hundred applicants receive a yes. Admission is not guaranteed, but it is not a lottery either: the application is reviewed, and compared with the other 942 selective private schools, it is on the more demanding side—seven out of ten of those schools accept a higher percentage of their applicants.

But here comes a distinction that changes everything. Being admitted is not the same as enrolling. Of every four students Oglethorpe admitted, about one ultimately enrolled. The other three already had a place there and decided not to take it. And 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 clearly is this: what others decided tells you nothing about what you will be offered. Wait for your letter with the net price—that is what the year will actually cost—and, with that number in hand, decide whether this school stays on the list.

Regarding standardized tests: the SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits them, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid all the same. Among those who enrolled and did submit the SAT (only 11 out of every 100 did so), the middle half scored between 573 and 670 in reading and writing, and between 533 and 650 in mathematics. Those numbers come from a minority who had already enrolled, not from all applicants. They are not a minimum your child must reach or a guarantee if your child reaches them.

Regarding transfers: in the fall of 2023, 38 students arrived at Oglethorpe after previously studying at another college. It is a count of people arriving, not a rate, and compared with similar schools it falls in the lower half. How many credits were accepted for those 38 is another question—and one to ask the school directly.

What it costs, in complete figures

At Oglethorpe University, among 75 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 $17,338. Among 37 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $20,321; among 142 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $24,561. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income and their own.

The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (75 students) and the highest-income band (142 students) is $7,223. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $22,251.

$17,338 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.

None of these figures is a price 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 with grant aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the financial aid letter you receive. In the meantime, run the net price calculator on the school’s website.

The aid that does arrive, and the debt that does too

Here is a figure I want you to understand clearly: 99 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some 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 $35,810 for the 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. What determines the answer is not the size of the discount they advertise; it is the amount your family has left to pay after everything. And out of every 100 students, 35 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.

Now for the debt, stated plainly, because I do not want to soften anything here: 67 out of every 100 Oglethorpe undergraduate students received a federal student loan during the 2022-23 school year. That is the majority. Compared with 942 similar selective private schools, it is on the high side: seven out of ten of those schools had a lower share of students with debt.

Among those who did borrow, each took out an average of $6,649 that year. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years the degree takes, the total would be around $26,596, not counting interest. That number is decided before the first signature, not at the end of the road. And keep in mind: that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit-card debt. Nor is it the total debt someone has upon graduation—to calculate that, you would have to add all four years, and that number is not in this report.

The fact that borrowing is common here does not determine whether your child will need it. That comes from the child’s personal aid letter and the difference between the actual net price and what your family can contribute. If debt appears in that letter, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything.

The university also reports a tuition installment-payment plan and participation in a Promise program, options worth asking admissions about if your family’s cash flow requires them.

Campus life and what is available

Oglethorpe does have institution-controlled housing, with reported capacity for 824 students. Living there is not mandatory for everyone—the university responded that it does not require all first-time, full-time students to live there—but that does not mean no program requires it. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in its largest plan. The existence of the option does not guarantee that a bed will be available or that the price will remain fixed: ask in writing for this year’s rate, the housing application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or you will be placed on a waiting list.

Regarding ROTC: in its most recent report, Oglethorpe did not mark any opportunity, neither the general box nor any of the three military branches. Among the four-year institutions in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 did mark it; this one was not among them. That does not prove that no nearby pathway exists—only that none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before assuming it is unavailable.

In sports, it does compete at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA, with reported participation in basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This does not tell you the division in which each sport competes or whether it offers athletic scholarships. Ask the coach of the sport directly, in writing.

Regarding distance education: it is offered at the undergraduate level, but in the fall count, fewer than 1 out of every 100 students took their entire course load that way. And the university specifically reported that it does not have a complete program in which all courses can be taken at a distance. If your child needs that format, confirm it in writing for the exact major of interest.

The library operates with paid staff and exceeded the spending threshold the government uses as a benchmark ($100,000 annually). It has physical and digital materials and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that it has databases specific to your child’s major—ask about them by the name of the major.

Finally, the university reports combined academic and career counseling services, employment support for students, participation in the Yellow Ribbon program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for military families, and a published webpage for disability services.

How many stay, and how many finish

For many families, this is the question that carries the most weight. Let’s take it slowly because these are three different figures, and each measures something different.

Retention. Of the 425 first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in the fall of 2022, 319 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later: 75 out of every 100. Compared with 930 similar schools, it falls slightly below the midpoint of the group. That 75 does not distinguish between those still studying there and those who had already graduated, and the remainder—106 people—does not reveal their outcome: not returning is not the same as dropping out. Someone who transferred and is still studying elsewhere counts the same in this figure as someone who left school.

Graduation within six years. Of the 332 students who entered in 2017, 176 had earned an Oglethorpe degree six years later: 53 out of every 100. At four years, the figure is 46 out of every 100—just 7 points lower, a small gap between the two time frames. Compared with 920 similar schools, it falls below the midpoint of the group.

It is essentially half and half. Of every 100 students who entered in that cohort, 53 left with a degree from here and 47 did not. The report counts outcomes, not the reasons behind each case. Before deciding, ask what specific support the school offers to help students finish on time, and how long the specific degree your child is interested in actually takes to complete.

Within eight years, looking at a broader cohort that includes both traditional entrants and those with prior experience, 55 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Here is a fact you should not overlook: among students who received a Pell Grant, that figure falls to 49 out of every 100—ten points lower than for those who did not receive Pell. A family qualifying for Pell today does not determine an individual student’s outcome, but if your financial situation falls into that category, it is worth asking the school, in writing, what specifically is available: an assigned counselor, emergency assistance, and whether the institutional scholarship is renewed each year.

None of these three figures tells you what will happen to your child. They are averages for entire cohorts, with stories the government does not report one by one. What they do tell you, in all honesty, is that graduating here is not automatic, and that asking about real support—not what appears in the brochure, but what exists today—is part of the work before deciding.

Putting the pieces together

You now know one of the three pieces you need in order to decide: who Oglethorpe University is according to its own official data. You know its size, its selectivity, what it costs on paper and what it ends up costing on average after aid, what the debt that is common there looks like, and how likely a student is, in general terms, to stay and graduate.

What this article cannot tell you—because that belongs not to any article, but to your family—is what your child wants to study, how far from home your child is willing to live, and how much you can truly afford to pay each month without debt becoming a burden that lasts for years. That combination is what makes a plan.

Your child’s job is to write the essay, send the paperwork, decide what to study, and work hard to build toward it. Your job is the money, the deadlines, the aid letter, and the direct questions this guide has pointed out along the way. It is not your job to live your child’s college life. It is your job to reach the door together, having completed your part on time.

Source note: The information in this article comes from data reported by Oglethorpe University to the United States Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), primarily for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Oglethorpe University or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data to help you understand it.