Pitzer College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Malibu, California · Private nonprofit · Selective · CDS 2024-2025
Pitzer College is a private nonprofit university in Malibu, California that admits about 50% of applicants, making it a selective school. The average family pays about $45,409 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Business Administration, Management and Operations, Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication and Psychology, General, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 83% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 3.9 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Pitzer College is a private institution located in Malibu, California with a selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Pitzer College admits between a quarter and half of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 50%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1367 and an ACT composite around 28. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $45,409 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Pitzer 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 Pitzer College?
Admitted students at Pitzer 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 Pitzer College weight in admissions?
Pitzer 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
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Recommendations
- • Volunteer work
- • Standardized test scores
- • Interview
- • First generation status
- • Work experience
- • Class rank
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Pitzer College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 620–740, with an EBRW midpoint near 670. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 26–32. A score at or above this school's 75th percentile materially improves your child's odds, particularly when paired with a rigorous course load.
| 25th percentile | 1300 |
| 50th percentile | 1370 |
| 75th percentile | 1440 |
| % submitting SAT | 18% |
| 25th percentile | 29 |
| 50th percentile | 31 |
| 75th percentile | 32 |
| % submitting ACT | 10% |
- • Test-optional: Standardized test scores are not required, but may be submitted and considered.
- • Policy detail: Considered if submitted
How much does Pitzer College actually cost?
Published tuition is $66,742 for in-state students and $66,742 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $23,270 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $45,409 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 20% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $71,860 |
| Room and board | $22,480 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $45,409 |
| Application fee | $70 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Pitzer College
| Regular deadline | Jan 15 |
| Notification date | Apr 1 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 |
| Offers Early Action | Yes |
| EA deadline | Nov 1 |
Will my child graduate from Pitzer 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 Pitzer College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Pitzer College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication and Psychology, General. Across all programs, Pitzer College confers roughly 658 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Business Administration, Management and Operations program report a median income of about $91,408 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 218 | $91,408 |
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | 127 | $75,482 |
| Psychology, General | 77 | $63,882 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 64 | $78,198 |
| Biology, General | 63 | — |
| Economics | 51 | $83,724 |
| Political Science and Government | 34 | $81,421 |
| International Business | 24 | — |
Is Pitzer College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Pitzer College disclosed 14 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 3.9 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 10 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 Pitzer College?
About 61% of undergraduates at Pitzer College live in campus housing, making it a largely residential campus. In Greek life, 24% of men join a fraternity and 34% 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 Pitzer College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Pitzer 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 Pitzer College
What GPA do I need for Pitzer College?
Admitted students at Pitzer College typically present unweighted GPAs in the 3.6–3.9 range with several honors or AP courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Pitzer College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 620–740, with an EBRW midpoint near 670. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 26–32.
How much does Pitzer College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Pitzer College after grants and scholarships is $45,409 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 Pitzer 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, Pitzer 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 Pitzer College?
Pitzer College accepts about 50% of applicants out of roughly 11,526 who apply each year. That makes it a selective school.
Is Pitzer College test-optional?
Yes. Pitzer 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 Pitzer College?
About 83% of students at Pitzer College graduate within six years, and 75% finish in four years. 88% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Pitzer College look for in applicants?
Pitzer College rates course rigor, GPA, the application essay and extracurricular activities as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Pitzer College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Pitzer College is a private nonprofit institution located in Malibu, California.
What are the most popular majors at Pitzer College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Pitzer College by annual graduates are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication and Psychology, General. The school awards about 658 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Pitzer College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Pitzer College reported 14 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 3.9 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 Pitzer College?
At Pitzer College, 61% of undergraduates live on campus, 24% of men are in fraternities, 34% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Pitzer 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.