Gardner-Webb University

Boiling Springs, NC · Private nonprofit · 1,856 undergrads (small, rural) · website ↗

Southern Baptist
Test-optional
No application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$15,304
$30,000 – $48,000	$14,594
$48,000 – $75,000	$13,769
$75,000 – $110,000	$15,946
Over $110,000	$22,438
All incomes (average)	$17,674

Sticker tuition and fees: $34,760 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Gardner-Webb University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$11,500
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$9,992
Books and supplies	$1,200
Other expenses, on campus	$5,119
Other expenses, off campus	$5,178

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (403 of them) in 2022–23; 99% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	99%	$24,762
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	40%	$5,383
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	99%	$20,279
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	90%	$5,157

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 77%
Average SAT: 1113
Median ACT: 21
Students with Pell grants: 37%
Graduation rate (6yr): 55%
Freshman retention: 55%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $48,039
Median debt at graduation: $24,222
International undergrads: 3 (0.2%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: None
Students per faculty member: 12 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 99%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 495–608
SAT Math: 480–590
ACT composite: 19–25

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Required
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Required
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Considered if submitted

First-time applicants: 4,670
Admitted: 4,064
Enrolled: 411

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing20%

Business19%

Education13%

Psychology12%

Biology & Life Sciences11%

Kinesiology & Sports Science5%

Criminal Justice4%

Communications & Media4%

Philosophy & Religion3%

Computer Science2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (13)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	76	$81,099	$75,117national $88,910	$21,500
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	42	$44,170	$45,110national $47,382	$27,643
Business Administration, Management and Operations	37	$47,508	$61,489national $68,257	$22,765
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	36	$42,807	$42,936national $50,523	$25,694
Psychology, General	32	—	$49,587national $50,706	$19,500
Criminal Justice and Corrections	28	$51,039	$51,709national $55,378	$23,199
Biology, General	23	—	$48,505national $57,214	$23,250
Accounting and Related Services	21	$54,863	$58,918national $76,194	$25,000
Communication and Media Studies	16	—	$35,982national $56,359	—
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	14	—	—national $62,172	$19,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	13	—	$58,061national $54,562	—
Computer Science	11	—	$68,175national $107,009	—
Health and Medical Administrative Services	5	—	$47,089national $58,716	—

Associate degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	10	—	$67,538national $80,813	$18,000

Master's degrees (9)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	106	$63,383	$70,841national $71,685	$21,092
Business Administration, Management and Operations	99	$74,736	$86,886national $103,485	$21,591
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	33	$114,014	$125,727national $127,347	$147,012
Public Administration	28	—	—national $81,408	$27,333
Accounting and Related Services	17	$75,310	$79,048national $95,833	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	16	$95,767	$104,141national $120,193	$37,729
Curriculum and Instruction	15	$53,190	$60,926national $63,399	$31,370
Educational/Instructional Media Design	13	—	—national $70,644	$34,166
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	12	$38,194	$56,338national $59,571	—

Doctoral degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	33	$115,561	$109,715national $138,131	$49,754
Educational Administration and Supervision	30	$92,637	$94,213national $100,573	$70,583
Business Administration, Management and Operations	18	$88,074	$84,386national $113,566	$58,347
Curriculum and Instruction	16	$74,096	$78,398national $83,031	$57,640

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Educational Administration and Supervision	1	$69,442	—national $86,288	$20,500

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 53 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: Main St, Boiling Springs, NC 28017-0997
Phone: (704) 406-2361
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Is Gardner-Webb University a reach, target, or safety for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see how it stacks up against 1,595 other colleges — ranked by fit and by what your family would actually pay.

Find my matches →

Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

Similar colleges in the United States

Picked by control, selectivity, mix of majors, location and size, from the same data as this page — not a judgement of quality.