Gardner-Webb University
Private College in Boiling Springs, NC. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $48,039.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $48,039 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 55%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $24,222, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 77% puts Gardner-Webb University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 5,212 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield is low at 11%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 10% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 495–608 | 45 (10%) |
| SAT Math | 480–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 19–25 | 169 (38%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Gardner-Webb University →Academics
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. 55% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. With 35% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,838 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $20,016 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $15,304 at $0–30k against $22,438 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 82% get grants averaging $18,375, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. About 47% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 410 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $15,304 |
| $30–48k | $14,594 |
| $48–75k | $13,769 |
| $75–110k | $15,946 |
| $110k+ | $22,438 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 868 of these 1,838 students, totalling $6,030,151 — an average of $6,947 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cleveland County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)