by our College Data Analytics TeamGet the facts about Central College. Learn how it ranks, what majors it offers, how diverse it is, and much more.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Central College was awarded 3 badges in the 2026 rankings.
College Factual ranked Central as #644 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list.
Within the state, Central holds the #11 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.
With an acceptance rate of 86%, Central College is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.
About 3% of students accepted to Central submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 528 and 560. Math scores were between 528 and 560.
Central received ACT scores from 42% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 26.
The student to faculty ratio at Central is an impressive 11 to 1. That’s quite good when you compare it to the national average of 15 to 1. This is a good sign that students at the school will have more opportunities for one-on-one interactions with their professors.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Central College is 86%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Central College is 73%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Central for first-time, full-time students is 69%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Central College.
During the most recent academic year, there were 1,062 undergraduates at Central.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Central College.
The overall average net price of Central is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Central
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $14,745 | $16,426 | $19,418 | $22,308 | $25,764 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Central, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At Central, approximately 70% of students took out student loans averaging $6,484 a year. That adds up to $25,936 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.6%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Central College.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Central College make about $54,317 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Central College graduates since it is 10% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
Central College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pella, Iowa. The surrounding location of Pella is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of Central College.
Contact information for Central College are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 812 University, Pella, IA 50219 |
| Phone: | 8774623687 |
| Website: | www.central.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/CentralCollege |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/centralcollege |
In the latest year of available data, students from 17 majors graduated from Central College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 284 | NA |
| Business Administration & Management | 48 | $43,169 |
| Physiology & Pathology Sciences | 38 | NA |
| General Biology | 19 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 19 | NA |
| Communication & Media Studies | 17 | NA |
| General Psychology | 17 | NA |
| Accounting | 15 | NA |
| Sociology | 12 | NA |
| Computer Science | 11 | NA |
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
6 students took at least one online class at Central College.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References