Berry College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Nashville, Georgia · Private nonprofit · Open access · CDS 2024-2025
Berry College is a private nonprofit university in Nashville, Georgia that admits about 96% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $32,096 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 70% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 2.4 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Berry College is a private institution located in Nashville, Georgia. For the most recent reporting cycle, Berry College admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 96%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1277 and an ACT composite around 27. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $32,096 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Berry 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 Berry College?
Berry 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.
What does Berry College weight in admissions?
Berry 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
- • Recommendations
- • Class rank
- • Standardized test scores
- • Application essay
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Talent/ability
- • Character/personal qualities
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Interview
- • First generation status
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Level of applicant's interest
SAT and ACT scores Berry College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 640. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 23–30. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
| 25th percentile | 1160 |
| 50th percentile | 1260 |
| 75th percentile | 1350 |
| % submitting SAT | 18% |
| 25th percentile | 24 |
| 50th percentile | 27 |
| 75th percentile | 30 |
| % submitting ACT | 37% |
- • 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 | 27.79% |
| Top 25% of class | 55.29% |
| Top 50% of class | 84.89% |
| % submitting class rank | 21.4% |
How much does Berry College actually cost?
Published tuition is $41,320 for in-state students and $41,320 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $14,290 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $32,096 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 19% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $41,740 |
| Room and board | $15,530 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $32,096 |
| Application fee | $50 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Berry College
| Rolling admissions | Yes |
Will my child graduate from Berry 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 Berry College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Berry College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians. Across all programs, Berry College confers roughly 996 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management program report a median income of about $50,279 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | 411 | $50,279 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 175 | $72,897 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians | 118 | $40,147 |
| Music | 94 | $30,355 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | 60 | $49,107 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 48 | $64,813 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 47 | — |
| Design and Applied Arts | 43 | $41,939 |
Is Berry College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Berry College disclosed 17 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 2.4 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 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.
Other colleges in Georgia parents ask about
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus37% acceptance
- Emory University11% acceptance
- University of Georgia62% acceptance
- Georgia State University16% acceptance
- Kennesaw State University69% acceptance
- Valdosta State University57% acceptance
- Georgia Southern University88% acceptance
- Georgia State University-Perimeter College84% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Berry College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Berry 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 Berry College
What GPA do I need for Berry College?
Berry 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 Berry College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 640. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 23–30.
How much does Berry College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Berry College after grants and scholarships is $32,096 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 Berry 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, Berry 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 Berry College?
Berry College accepts about 96% of applicants out of roughly 9,165 who apply each year. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.
Is Berry College test-optional?
Yes. Berry 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 Berry College?
About 70% of students at Berry College graduate within six years. 87% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Berry College look for in applicants?
Berry College rates course rigor and GPA as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Berry College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Berry College is a private nonprofit institution located in Nashville, Georgia.
What are the most popular majors at Berry College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Berry College by annual graduates are Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians. The school awards about 996 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Berry College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Berry College reported 17 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 2.4 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 Berry 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.