College · Private nonprofit · Gainesville, GA · City
Brenau University
Gainesville, GA
Women-only
Admit rate88%
6-yr median pay$42k
Net price / yr$19k
Undergrad size1,029
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $19k/yr for a shot at a $42k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 88% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1079 · ACT 23.
If you get in
1,029 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $46k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $19k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$184k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$76k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$108k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.8x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $34.0k
- Room & board
- $12.8k
- Books & supplies
- $1,250
How students pay for it.
Pell grants46%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans70%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention64%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr33%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$42k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$54k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out47%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,029
- Location
- Gainesville, GA
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral/Professional Universities
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White42%
- Black24%
- Hispanic21%
- International6%
- Two or more races4%
- Asian2%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time15%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$29k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 26
What you can study.