Centre College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Baton Rouge, Kentucky · Public · Moderately selective · CDS 2024-2025
Centre College is a public university in Baton Rouge, Kentucky that admits about 74% of applicants, making it a moderately selective school. The average family pays about $20,015 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Biology, General and Communication and Media Studies, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. About 69% of students graduate within six years. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 7.7 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Centre College is a public institution located in Baton Rouge, Kentucky with a moderately selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Centre College admits about half to three-quarters of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 74%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1248 and an ACT composite around 26. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $20,015 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Centre 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 Centre College?
Centre College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum. 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 Centre College weight in admissions?
Centre 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
- • Standardized test scores
- • Recommendations
- • Class rank
- • Talent/ability
- • Application essay
- • Interview
- • Extracurricular activities
- • Character/personal qualities
- • First generation status
- • Alumni/ae relation
- • Volunteer work
- • Work experience
- • Level of applicant's interest
- • Geographical residence
- • State residency
- • Religious affiliation/commitment
SAT and ACT scores Centre College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 620. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 24–29. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
| 25th percentile | 1180 |
| 50th percentile | 1250 |
| 75th percentile | 1320 |
| % submitting SAT | 7% |
| 25th percentile | 24 |
| 50th percentile | 27 |
| 75th percentile | 30 |
| % submitting ACT | 40% |
- • 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 | 26% |
| Top 25% of class | 54% |
| Top 50% of class | 83% |
| % submitting class rank | 77% |
How much does Centre College actually cost?
Published tuition is $11,954 for in-state students and $28,631 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $14,296 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $20,015 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 26% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| In-state tuition | $8,038 |
| Out-of-state tuition | $24,715 |
| Room and board | $15,142 |
| Average net price (after aid) | $20,015 |
| Application fee | $50 (waivers available) |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Centre College
| Regular deadline | April 15 |
| Notification date | Rolling, beginning October 15 |
| Reply deadline | May 1 or within 2 weeks if notified thereafter |
| Rolling admissions | Yes |
Will my child graduate from Centre 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 Centre College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Centre College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Biology, General and Communication and Media Studies. Across all programs, Centre College confers roughly 2,039 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas program report a median income of about $64,446 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) |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 366 | $64,446 |
| Biology, General | 334 | $63,433 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 333 | $58,924 |
| Construction Management | 232 | $96,044 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 221 | $69,796 |
| Psychology, General | 199 | $54,846 |
| Marketing | 190 | $64,939 |
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | 164 | $57,216 |
Is Centre College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Centre College disclosed 235 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 7.7 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 22 violent offenses and 45 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 Centre College?
About 29% of undergraduates at Centre 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 24% 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 Kentucky parents ask about
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Centre College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Centre 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 Centre College
What GPA do I need for Centre College?
Centre College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum.
What SAT or ACT score does Centre College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 560–660, with an EBRW midpoint near 620. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 24–29.
How much does Centre College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Centre College after grants and scholarships is $20,015 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 Centre 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, Centre 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 Centre College?
Centre College accepts about 74% of applicants out of roughly 47,065 who apply each year. That makes it a moderately selective school.
Is Centre College test-optional?
Yes. Centre 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 Centre College?
About 69% of students at Centre College graduate within six years. 85% of freshmen return for sophomore year. Graduation rate predicts real outcomes better than acceptance rate.
What does Centre College look for in applicants?
Centre College rates course rigor, GPA, test scores and recommendations as "very important" in its Common Data Set. These are the factors the admissions committee weighs most heavily when reviewing an application.
Is Centre College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Centre College is a public institution located in Baton Rouge, Kentucky.
What are the most popular majors at Centre College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Centre College by annual graduates are Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas, Biology, General and Communication and Media Studies. The school awards about 2,039 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Centre College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Centre College reported 235 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 7.7 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 Centre College?
At Centre College, 29% of undergraduates live on campus, 17% of men are in fraternities, 24% of women are in sororities, according to its most recent Common Data Set.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Centre 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.