Ripon College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes

Whitewater, Wisconsin · Public · Open access · CDS 2024-2025

Acceptance rate
83%
Avg SAT
1090
In-state tuition
$8,250
per year, before aid
Net price (avg)
$14,785
after aid, what families pay
Quick answer

Ripon College is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin that admits about 83% of applicants, making it a open access school. The average family pays about $14,785 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Business Administration, Management and Operations, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods and Finance and Financial Management Services, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 2.5 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.

Ripon College is a public institution located in Whitewater, Wisconsin. For the most recent reporting cycle, Ripon College admits the majority of qualified applicants, with an overall admission rate of 83%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1090 and an ACT composite around 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $14,785 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Ripon 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 Ripon College?

Ripon 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 Ripon College typically admits

The middle-50 ACT composite range is 18–24. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.

SAT Composite
25th percentile
50th percentile1090
75th percentile
ACT Composite
25th percentile18
50th percentile21
75th percentile24

How much does Ripon College actually cost?

Published tuition is $8,250 for in-state students and $17,916 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $7,770 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $14,785 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 25% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.

Average net price (after aid)$14,785

Application deadlines and early decision data for Ripon College

Regular admission

Most popular majors at Ripon College

The most popular undergraduate programs at Ripon College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods and Finance and Financial Management Services. Across all programs, Ripon College confers roughly 1,169 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Business Administration, Management and Operations program report a median income of about $68,804 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.

MajorGraduates / yearMedian earnings (5 yrs out)
Business Administration, Management and Operations222$68,804
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods195$45,670
Finance and Financial Management Services190$73,029
Marketing175$68,927
Accounting and Related Services105$74,522
Psychology, General97$50,908
Business/Commerce, General94$63,645
Communication and Media Studies91$59,216
Bachelor's-degree completions from federal IPEDS data; earnings from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Is Ripon College safe? Campus crime & safety

In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Ripon College disclosed 24 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 2.5 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 2 violent offenses and 18 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.

Total offenses
24
2.5 per 1,000 students
Violent crime
2
0.21 per 1,000
Sexual assault / VAWA
18
1.91 per 1,000
Burglary
0
reported incidents
Clery Act disclosures (2024) cover on-campus, noncampus, and adjacent public-property incidents; rates use an enrollment of 9,405 students.

Other colleges in Wisconsin parents ask about

How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Ripon College

Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Ripon 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 Ripon College

What GPA do I need for Ripon College?

Ripon 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 Ripon College typically admit?

The middle-50 ACT composite range is 18–24.

How much does Ripon College actually cost after financial aid?

The average net price at Ripon College after grants and scholarships is $14,785 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 Ripon 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, Ripon 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 Ripon College?

Ripon College accepts about 83% of applicants. It admits the majority of qualified applicants.

Is Ripon College a public or private school, and where is it located?

Ripon College is a public institution located in Whitewater, Wisconsin.

What are the most popular majors at Ripon College?

The largest undergraduate majors at Ripon College by annual graduates are Business Administration, Management and Operations, Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods and Finance and Financial Management Services. The school awards about 1,169 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.

Is Ripon College safe? What is its campus crime rate?

Ripon College reported 24 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 2.5 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 Ripon 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.