Spelman College
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 4.5-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 31 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 20 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing10 · 32.3%
- No Data20 · 64.5%
- Failing1 · 3.2%
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 · 2
Action history · 3
- Jun 2021Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Dec 2017Renewal of AccreditationSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges
- Aug 2014Change in Agency recognitionNational Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs
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, 1,158 students received $6.9M in Pell grants, alongside $45.3M 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 523 borrowers who entered repayment, 11 (2.1%) 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 Spelman College
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
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 campus6
- Non-campus9
Includes 6 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.
Spelman College vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions Spelman College 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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectSpelman College | 78% | — | 3,417 | $38,967 | Baccalaureate |
| 59% | 44.0% | 2,847 | $39,013 | Baccalaureate | |
| 54% | 88.4% | 1,425 | $19,509 | Baccalaureate | |
| 42% | 62.6% | 1,457 | $22,034 | Baccalaureate | |
| 71% | 62.2% | 1,079 | $24,754 | Baccalaureate | |
| 69% | 86.5% | 1,100 | $26,265 | Baccalaureate | |
| Peer group median | 64% | 62.6% | 1,441 | $25,510 |
Institutions like Spelman College
Explore the federal data for institutions in Spelman College's comparison group.
- BaccalaureateGeorgia
Morehouse College
Grad rate59%Admit rate44.0%Enrollment2,847Net price$39,013View data - BaccalaureateGeorgia
Oglethorpe University
Grad rate54%Admit rate88.4%Enrollment1,425Net price$19,509View data - BaccalaureateGeorgia
Young Harris College
Grad rate42%Admit rate62.6%Enrollment1,457Net price$22,034View data - BaccalaureateGeorgia
Agnes Scott College
Grad rate71%Admit rate62.2%Enrollment1,079Net price$24,754View data - BaccalaureateGeorgia
Covenant College
Grad rate69%Admit rate86.5%Enrollment1,100Net price$26,265View data
Spelman College Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
Institutional Research (IR) provides official institutional data, analyses and research to support and improve decision-making.
Visit IR office page- Myra BurnettVice President for Institutional Effectiveness
- Venetta ColemanDirector of Institutional Effectiveness and Director of the Quality Enhancement Plan
Common Data Set
Spelman College's own annual Common Data Set: the most detailed self-reported reference for selectivity, cost, outcomes, and the student body.
Selectivity & Admissions
Admissions funnel
C111,533 applied → 2,743 admitted (23.8%) → 648 enrolled.
Selectivity
C1Highly selective — 23.8% acceptance rate.
SAT range (middle 50%)
C9Middle 50% SAT 1100–1300 (median 1220).
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
C2568 offered a waitlist spot, 2 accepted it, 0 admitted (0.0% of those who stayed on).
What matters in admission
C7Relative importance of each admission factor.
Affordability & Value
Cost of attendance
GTotal sticker cost of attendance is $52,894 (2026-2027).
Sticker vs. net price
G+HSticker $52,894 → about $35,749 net for aided students after the average need-based grant ($17,145); 19% of demonstrated need is met.
Where grant aid comes from
H118% of need-based grant dollars come from the institution itself.
Graduate debt
H4/H562% of graduates borrowed; those who did owed $34,425 on average.
Outcomes & Equity
Graduation & retention
B6-year graduation rate 77%; first-year retention 95%.
Equity: Pell graduation gap
B4Pell-grant recipients graduate 10 pts below the overall rate (67% vs 77%).
Academic Experience
Class-size distribution
I361% of classes have under 20 students; 1% have 50+.
Faculty profile
IKey faculty indicators.
Student Body & Diversity
Undergraduate race/ethnicity
B2Undergraduate enrollment by race/ethnicity.
International students
B20% of undergraduates are international (nonresident).
Transfer Path
Transfer admissions
D1254 transfer applicants → 16 admitted (6.3%) → 7 enrolled — more selective than first-year admission.
Source publications
Frequently asked questions about Spelman College
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Spelman College.
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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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