Principia College

Admissions

Selectivity is real here: only 44% of applicants are offered a place. Only 268 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. A 71% yield rate puts this school in the upper range for admits who follow through. The score bands below rest on the 38% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.

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.

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Academics

74% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. Retention is strong at 83%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 6:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. This is a small school — 346 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.

Financial Aid

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 346 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Average net price after grant aid is $18,248 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Most students get help: 97% receive grants worth $32,574 on average.