Mills College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Los Angeles, California · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Mills College is a private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, California that admits about 40% of applicants, making it a selective school. The average family pays about $45,723 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Psychology, General, Marketing and Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 79% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 7.9 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
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.
Most popular majors at Mills College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Mills College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Psychology, General, Marketing and Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. Across all programs, Mills College confers roughly 927 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Psychology, General program report a median income of about $64,365 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology, General | 158 | $64,365 |
| Marketing | 154 | $82,022 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 134 | $46,410 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 125 | $70,036 |
| Finance and Financial Management Services | 115 | $116,165 |
| Political Science and Government | 91 | $73,765 |
| Economics | 79 | $83,849 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 71 | $45,035 |
Is Mills College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Mills College disclosed 56 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 7.9 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 2 violent offenses and 13 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
What is campus life like at Mills College?
About 45% of undergraduates at Mills College live in campus housing, so a meaningful share of students commute or live off campus. In Greek life, 17% of men join a fraternity and 25% of women join a sorority. Residential rate and Greek participation shape day-to-day social life and are worth weighing alongside academics and cost.
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.
What is the acceptance rate at Mills College?
Mills College accepts about 40% of applicants out of roughly 23,089 who apply each year. That makes it a selective school.
Is Mills College test-optional?
Yes. Mills College is test-optional, so SAT and ACT scores are not required, but strong scores can still be submitted and will be considered.
What is the graduation rate at Mills College?
About 79% of students at Mills College graduate within six years, and 68% finish in four years. 89% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
Does applying Early Decision improve my chances at Mills College?
Mills College's Early Decision acceptance rate is about 44%, compared with its overall rate of 40%. Applying ED can meaningfully improve admission odds, but it is a binding commitment to enroll if accepted.
What does Mills College look for in applicants?
Mills College rates course rigor, GPA and the application essay as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Mills College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Mills College is a private nonprofit institution located in Los Angeles, California.
What are the most popular majors at Mills College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Mills College by annual graduates are Psychology, General, Marketing and Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. The school awards about 927 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Mills College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Mills College reported 56 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 7.9 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
What is campus life like at Mills College?
At Mills College, 45% of undergraduates live on campus, 17% of men are in fraternities, 25% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Mills College, the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.