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Gardner-Webb University Comprehensive Profile

70 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
77% Acceptance Rate

If you want to know more about Gardner-Webb University, such as what majors does it offer, how diverse it is, how well it ranks, and more, this is your one-stop resource.

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* Rankings

How Well Is Gardner-Webb University Ranked?

#1,222 Best Colleges in Nation
#24 Best Colleges in NC
Gardner-Webb University ranking badge

2026 College Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

Gardner-Webb University was awarded 70 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, GWU is ranked #1,222 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

GWU is also ranked #24 on the Best Colleges in North Carolina list.

See all of the rankings for Gardner-Webb University.

How Difficult Is Admission to Gardner-Webb University?

77% Acceptance Rate
80% Of Accepted Are Women
10% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate at Gardner-Webb University is 77%. That’s higher than the rate at many schools, but still low enough to be considered somewhat selective. If you want to get in, you’ll need good grades and to be able to show that GWU is a good fit for you.

SAT and ACT Scores

About 10% of students accepted to GWU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 495 and 608. Math scores were between 480 and 590.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Gardner-Webb University  ( 495 to 608 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Gardner-Webb University  ( 480 to 590 )
200
800

GWU received ACT scores from 38% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 19 and 25.

ACT Composite Scores for Gardner-Webb University  ( 19 to 25 )
1
36

Learn more about Gardner-Webb University admissions.

Faculty at Gardner-Webb University

12 to 1 Student to Faculty
99% Full Time Teachers

Faculty Accessibility

The student to faculty ratio at GWU is an impressive 12 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.

Full-Time Faculty Share

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Gardner-Webb University is 99%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  99 out of 100
0
100

Student Success Metrics for Gardner-Webb University

69% Freshmen Retention
62% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

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 Gardner-Webb University is 69%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  69 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at GWU for first-time, full-time students is 62%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  62 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Gardner-Webb University.

Student Demographics at Gardner-Webb University

1,836 Undergraduate Students
24.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
64.0% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 1,836 undergraduates at GWU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Gardner-Webb University.

Cost of Attending Gardner-Webb University

$16,772 Net Price
47% Take Out Loans
$27,788 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at GWU 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 GWU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$21,744 $19,750 $19,334 $25,534 $27,952

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 GWU, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

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 GWU, approximately 47% of students took out student loans averaging $6,947 a year. That adds up to $27,788 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.9%. 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 Gardner-Webb University.

Post-Graduation Earnings for Gardner-Webb University

$48,039 Avg Salary of Grads
Average Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Gardner-Webb University make about $48,039 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is in the same neighborhood of the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. However, certain majors may produce higher-paying graduates.

See which majors at Gardner-Webb University make the most money.

Location of Gardner-Webb University

North Carolina State
1,836 Undergraduate Students
Rural Campus Setting

Gardner-Webb University is an private not-for-profit institution located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The rural area surrounding GWU is great for students who love a peaceful atmosphere. Get more details about the location of Gardner-Webb University.

Location of Gardner-Webb University

Contact information for Gardner-Webb University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: Main St, Boiling Springs, NC 28017-0997
Phone: 7044062361
Website: www.gardner-webb.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gardnerwebb
Twitter: twitter.com/thegardnerwebb

Gardner-Webb University Areas of Study

21 Majors With Completions
1,954 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 21 majors graduated from Gardner-Webb University. 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 977 NA
Business Administration & Management 154 $53,217
Educational Administration 137 $54,735
Nursing 137 $72,400
Teacher Education Grade Specific 42 $35,826
Health & Physical Education 42 $27,205
Accounting 38 $48,613
Clinical & Counseling Psychology 36 $28,865
Allied Health Professions 33 $97,737
General Psychology 32 $22,845

Learn more about the majors offered at Gardner-Webb University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Learning at GWU

67% Take At Least One Class Online
27% Take All Classes Online

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.

1,234 students took at least one online class at Gardner-Webb University.

Learn more about online learning at Gardner-Webb University.

Similar InstitutionsWant to see how other colleges compare to GWU? Compare them side by side using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Data Sources and References

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

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