South Arkansas College is a public institution in El Dorado, Arkansas enrolling 862 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 30%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,968 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 38%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
South Arkansas College ranks #1,968 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 38%.
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.
South Arkansas College was awarded 15 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, SouthArk is ranked #1,968 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Within the state, SouthArk holds the #16 spot on the Best Colleges in Arkansas ranking.
See all of the rankings for South Arkansas College.
Learn more about South Arkansas College admissions.
At SouthArk, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at South Arkansas College is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate is a sign of how many full-time students like a college or university well enough to come back for their sophomore year. At South Arkansas College this rate is 57%, which is a bit lower than the national average of 68%.
The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor’s degree within four years. At SouthArk this rate is 30%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at South Arkansas College.
The current enrollment includes 862 undergraduates at SouthArk.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at South Arkansas College.
The typical net cost at SouthArk is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $6,690 | $6,041 | $8,640 | $11,305 | $12,932 |
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 SouthArk, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At SouthArk, approximately 17% of students took out student loans averaging $4,884 a year. That adds up to $19,536 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 15.4%. This is significantly higher than the national default rate of 10.1%, which means you could have trouble paying back your student loans if you take any out. Get more details about paying for South Arkansas College.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from South Arkansas College make around $34,521 per year during the early years of their employment. This is about 30% less than the average pay for college graduates overall. However, graduates with your major may make more.
See which majors at South Arkansas College make the most money.
South Arkansas College is an public institution situated in El Dorado, Arkansas. The surrounding location of El Dorado is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of South Arkansas College.
Contact details for South Arkansas College are listed below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 300 S West Ave, El Dorado, AR 71731-7010 |
| Phone: | 8708628131 |
| Website: | www.southark.edu |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 13 majors graduated from South Arkansas 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 | 1,145 | NA |
| Health Sciences & Services | 573 | NA |
| Precision Metal Working | 137 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 114 | $18,245 |
| Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 57 | $34,943 |
| Nursing | 45 | $29,874 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 45 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 36 | NA |
| Vehicle Maintenance & Repair | 27 | NA |
| Industrial Production Technology | 25 | NA |
738 students took at least one online class at South Arkansas College.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at South Arkansas College.
Want to see how other colleges compare to SouthArk? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.