Grove City College

Private · Moderately Selective · PA

Photo: Mark Schellhase (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationPA · Northeast

SettingRural

Undergrads2,216

Student:faculty13:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate77.2%

6-yr grad rate83.2%

Drop-out rate11.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$22k

Out-of-state tuition$22k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity10%

Gender diversity47.7%

International1%

IdentityUndenominational

Overview

Grove City College is a Christian liberal arts college in western Pennsylvania known for combining rigorous academics with a distinctly conservative campus culture. Its most defining institutional choice is refusing all federal funding, including student financial aid, a stance that keeps it outside federal compliance requirements but also allows it to keep tuition notably lower than most private colleges of comparable academic caliber.

Academics

Engineering, business, and education are among its strongest programs, taught within a core-curriculum structure that emphasizes a shared foundation across majors. Class sizes stay small, and the academic reputation is genuinely rigorous rather than a marketing claim; the college is regularly noted for producing strong outcomes relative to its cost.

Campus & student life

The campus culture leans traditional and conservative, shaping social life and the tenor of campus discourse; students who thrive there tend to want that environment specifically rather than merely tolerate it.

Getting in

Because Grove City doesn't participate in federal aid programs, financial aid works through the college's own funds rather than federal loans or grants, a detail that matters practically for applicants and shapes who applies. Academics are taken seriously in review, and demonstrated fit with the college's conservative, faith-oriented culture is part of the picture.

Worth knowing

The federal-funding refusal is the single most distinctive fact about the college; it affects financial aid mechanics and federal compliance rules the school opts out of, and it is a genuine part of its self-identity, not an obscure footnote.

gcc.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate72.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1141–1388 · ACT 23–31

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Regular decisionFeb 1

Applying