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Virginia Commonwealth University Complete Information Guide

287 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
93% Acceptance Rate

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

Want to know more about a specific stat? Just click on its tile, and you’ll go to a page that goes more in-depth on that subject. You can also use the links below to go directly to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Well Is Virginia Commonwealth University Ranked?

#347 Best Colleges in Nation
#10 Best Colleges in VA
Virginia Commonwealth University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

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.

Virginia Commonwealth University was awarded 287 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

College Factual ranked VCU as #347 out of 3,449 colleges and universities in the country on its 2026 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 10% of all schools in the nation.

Within the state, VCU holds the #10 spot on the Best Colleges in Virginia ranking.

See all of the rankings for Virginia Commonwealth University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Virginia Commonwealth University?

93% Acceptance Rate
93% Of Accepted Are Women
34% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

With an acceptance rate of 93%, Virginia Commonwealth University 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.

Standardized Test Scores

About 34% of students accepted to VCU submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 520 and 650. Math scores were between 490 and 620.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Virginia Commonwealth University  ( 520 to 650 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Virginia Commonwealth University  ( 490 to 620 )
200
800

VCU received ACT scores from 3% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 22 and 30.

ACT Composite Scores for Virginia Commonwealth University  ( 22 to 30 )
1
36

Learn more about Virginia Commonwealth University admissions.

Teaching Staff at Virginia Commonwealth University

17 to 1 Student to Faculty
64% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at Virginia Commonwealth University is about average at 17 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

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 Virginia Commonwealth University is 64%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  64 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Virginia Commonwealth University

86% Freshmen Retention
65% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate of 86% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Virginia Commonwealth University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  86 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At VCU the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 65%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  65 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Virginia Commonwealth University

20,797 Undergraduate Students
57.2% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
63.4% Percent Women

In the current academic year, there are 20,797 undergraduates at VCU.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Cost of Attending Virginia Commonwealth University

$16,772 Net Price
39% Take Out Loans
$26,224 Total Student Loans

The average net price of VCU 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 VCU

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$12,830 $13,612 $16,455 $20,633 $28,474

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

Student Debt

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 VCU, approximately 39% of students took out student loans averaging $6,556 a year. That adds up to $26,224 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 4.7%. 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 Virginia Commonwealth University.

What Do Virginia Commonwealth U Alumni Earn?

$58,128 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University make about $58,128 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is good news for future Virginia Commonwealth University graduates since it is 18% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Virginia Commonwealth University make the most money.

Location of Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia State
20,797 Undergraduate Students
Midsize City Campus Setting

Virginia Commonwealth University is a public institution situated in Richmond, Virginia. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Location of Virginia Commonwealth University

Get in touch with Virginia Commonwealth University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 910 W Franklin St, Richmond, VA 23284-2512
Phone: 8048280100
Website: www.vcu.edu/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/virginiacommonwealthuniversity
Twitter: twitter.com/VCU

Virginia Commonwealth University Majors

25 Majors With Completions
14,838 Undergraduate Degrees

During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 25 majors graduated from Virginia Commonwealth 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 7,419 NA
General Psychology 580 $29,652
Social Work 455 $43,017
General Biology 373 $24,666
Design & Applied Arts 365 $29,473
Nursing 360 $91,184
Business & Commerce 346 $48,907
Teacher Education Subject Specific 321 $30,891
Communication & Media Studies 204 $33,138
Criminal Justice & Corrections 199 $34,967

Learn more about the majors offered at Virginia Commonwealth University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Distance Learning at VCU

72% Take At Least One Class Online
7% Take All Classes Online

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.

14,960 students took at least one online class at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Learn more about online learning at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Notes 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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