Samford University
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 12.5-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 99 Title IV programs, 25 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 74 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing25 · 25.3%
- No Data74 · 74.7%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.
Earnings premium gap
Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
Programmatic accreditations · 18
Action history · 28
- Aug 2025Grant Substantive Change: ProgramSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Jun 2025Renewal of AccreditationAccreditation Council for Pharmacy Education · Pharmacy (PHAR) - Professional degree programs
- May 2025Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
- May 2025Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNDNP) - Nursing education programs at the doctorate degree levels
- May 2025Renewal of AccreditationCommission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 655 students received $3.9M in Pell grants, alongside $67.0M in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 944 borrowers who entered repayment, 9 (0.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at Samford
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Athletics & Title IX gender equity
How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.
Men vs women · spending splits
Sport-by-sport · 9
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus4
Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
Samford vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Samford selected for federal comparison reporting.
A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.
| Carnegie | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSamford University | 77% | — | 6,097 | $32,622 | Doctoral/Professional |
| 47% | 62.6% | 6,081 | $20,406 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 69% | 70.5% | 4,696 | $22,130 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 60% | 87.2% | 4,963 | $24,516 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 72% | 67.7% | 5,017 | $24,739 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| 60% | 60.3% | 5,321 | $14,258 | Doctoral/Professional | |
| Peer group median | 65% | 67.7% | 5,169 | $23,323 |
Institutions like Samford
Explore the federal data for institutions in Samford's comparison group.
- Doctoral/ProfessionalTennessee
Lincoln Memorial University
Grad rate47%Admit rate62.6%Enrollment6,081Net price$20,406View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalArkansas
Harding University
Grad rate69%Admit rate70.5%Enrollment4,696Net price$22,130View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalNorth Carolina
Campbell University
Grad rate60%Admit rate87.2%Enrollment4,963Net price$24,516View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalTennessee
Lipscomb University
Grad rate72%Admit rate67.7%Enrollment5,017Net price$24,739View data - Doctoral/ProfessionalMississippi
William Carey University
Grad rate60%Admit rate60.3%Enrollment5,321Net price$14,258View data
Samford Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
- Toner EvansDirector, Institutional Analytics and Effectiveness
- Karen BraddockAnalyst II, Institutional Analytics and Effectiveness
- Melanie TrimbleAnalyst I, Institutional Analytics and Effectiveness
Common Data Set
Samford's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C14,559 applied → 3,755 admitted (82.4%) → 1,087 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Accessible — 82.4% acceptance rate.
Admit rate by gender
C1Admit rate varies by gender.
SAT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% SAT 1080–1240 (median 1150).
ACT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% ACT 22–28 (median 25).
High-school class rank
C10Share of enrolled first-years by HS class-rank band.
Waitlist outcome
C2132 offered a waitlist spot, 71 accepted it, 25 admitted (35.2% of those who stayed on).
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Samford University
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Samford.
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About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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