The University of the South

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for The University of the South

The University of the South operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Sewanee, Tennessee (rural: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,607 students of which 1,755 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. The University of the South is categorized as “21” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 56.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,344 and an ACT midpoint of 29. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $27,872, with published in-state tuition of $56,120 and a Pell grant recipient share of 15.8%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $22,855, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 81.0%, and the first-year retention rate is 88.9%. Graduates earn a median of $64,911 ten years after enrolling, compared with $53,456 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 30500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.0% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.