Mills College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Los Angeles, California · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Mills College is a private institution located in Los Angeles, California with a selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Mills College admits between a quarter and half of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 40%. Admitted students typically post an ACT composite around 30. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $45,723 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Mills College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Mills College?
Admitted students at Mills College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
What does Mills College weight in admissions?
Mills College reports the following factor importance in its Common Data Set (2024-2025). These are the criteria the admissions committee weighs when reviewing applications.
- • Rigor of secondary school record
- • Academic GPA
- • Application essay
- • Recommendations
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Class rank
- • Standardized test scores
- • Extracurricular activities
- • First generation status
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Interview
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Mills College typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
| 25th percentile | 1280 |
| 50th percentile | 1350 |
| 75th percentile | 1400 |
| % submitting SAT | 18% |
| 25th percentile | 28 |
| 50th percentile | 30 |
| 75th percentile | 32 |
| % submitting ACT | 8% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
Where admitted students ranked in their high school class
Class rank distribution gives parents a clear sense of how academically dominant a typical admitted student was within their own high school cohort — often a more meaningful signal than absolute GPA.
| Top 10% of class | 30.3% |
| Top 25% of class | 66.6% |
| Top 50% of class | 94.5% |
| % submitting class rank | 22.5% |
How much does Mills College actually cost?
Published tuition is $58,974 for in-state students and $58,974 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $20,713 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $45,723 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 13% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | — |
| Room and board | — |
| Average net price (after aid) | $45,723 |
| Application fee | $75 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Mills College
| Regular deadline | 1/15 |
| Notification date | Plan dependent |
| Reply deadline | May 1st or within 2 weeks if notified thereafter |
| Offers Early Decision | Yes |
| ED deadline | 11/1 |
| ED acceptance rate | 44% |
| Offers Early Action | Yes |
| EA deadline | 11/1 |
Will my child graduate from Mills College?
Retention and graduation rates are the most overlooked numbers in college planning, but they predict actual outcomes far better than acceptance rate. They tell you whether admitted students stay and finish on time.
Other colleges in California parents ask about
- Stanford University4% acceptance
- University of California-Berkeley12% acceptance
- University of California-Los Angeles9% acceptance
- University of Southern California10% acceptance
- University of California-Davis42% acceptance
- University of California-Irvine26% acceptance
- University of California-San Diego25% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Barbara63% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Mills College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Mills College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Mills College
What GPA do I need for Mills College?
Admitted students at Mills College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Mills College typically admit?
Mills College does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does Mills College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Mills College after grants and scholarships is $45,723 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Mills College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Mills College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Mills College, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.