Whittier College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Arcata, California · Public · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
Whittier College is a public university in Arcata, California that admits about 99% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $13,167 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 8.4 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Whittier College is a public institution located in Arcata, California. For the most recent reporting cycle, Whittier College admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 99%. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,167 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Whittier 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 Whittier College?
Whittier College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission. 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.
SAT and ACT scores Whittier 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.
How much does Whittier College actually cost?
Published tuition is $7,913 for in-state students and $19,793 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $13,166 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $13,167 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 46% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| Average net price (after aid) | $13,167 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Whittier College
Most popular majors at Whittier College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Whittier College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations. Across all programs, Whittier College confers roughly 789 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Psychology, General program report a median income of about $43,990 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 | 143 | $43,990 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 141 | $50,871 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 110 | $58,979 |
| Biology, General | 97 | $50,531 |
| Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management | 95 | $41,148 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 76 | $49,190 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 67 | $35,523 |
| Social Work | 60 | $57,147 |
Is Whittier College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Whittier College disclosed 47 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 8.4 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 2 violent offenses and 33 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.
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 Whittier College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Whittier 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 Whittier College
What GPA do I need for Whittier College?
Whittier College has a broadly accessible admissions profile, and most students who complete a standard college-prep curriculum with a 3.0 GPA or higher are competitive for admission.
What SAT or ACT score does Whittier College typically admit?
Whittier 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 Whittier College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Whittier College after grants and scholarships is $13,167 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 Whittier 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, Whittier 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 Whittier College?
Whittier College accepts about 99% of applicants. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is Whittier College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Whittier College is a public institution located in Arcata, California.
What are the most popular majors at Whittier College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Whittier College by annual graduates are Psychology, General, Natural Resources Conservation and Research and Business Administration, Management and Operations. The school awards about 789 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Whittier College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Whittier College reported 47 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 8.4 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Whittier 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.