Ripon College

Private · Moderately Selective · WI

Photo: Cmarsch (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationWI · Midwest

SettingRural

Undergrads688

Student:faculty12:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate44.2%

6-yr grad rate63.3%

Drop-out rate27.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$52k

Out-of-state tuition$52k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity21.1%

Gender diversity45.6%

International1.7%

Identity—

Overview

Ripon College is a small residential liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, the small town where the Republican Party is traditionally said to have held its founding meeting in 1854, a piece of history the college and town both lean into. Nearly all students live on campus for all four years, giving Ripon an unusually residential character even among small liberal arts colleges.

Academics

Ripon's defining academic feature is its Catalyst curriculum, which teaches applied professional and personal skills, such as communication, leadership, and career-readiness competencies, alongside the traditional major, rather than leaving those skills to be picked up informally. Faculty mentorship is close given the college's small size, and students describe direct, sustained relationships with professors as central to the academic experience.

Campus & student life

The small-town Wisconsin setting keeps campus life fairly self-contained, and with almost the entire student body living on campus, residential and social life is dense and continuous across all four years rather than tapering off after the first year or two, as it does at many schools with more commuter or off-campus options.

Getting in

Admission is holistic, and the college's small size means demonstrated fit, genuine interest in a fully residential, close-community experience, carries real weight in review.

Worth knowing

The Republican Party founding-meeting history is a genuine point of campus and town identity, not just a footnote, and shapes some local traditions and historical programming on campus.

ripon.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate79.8%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 980–1270 · ACT 21–27

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying