William Jewell College

Private · Selective · MO

Photo: Dennis mccoy mo (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationMO · Midwest

SettingSuburban

Undergrads924

Student:faculty10:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate56.3%

6-yr grad rate67.7%

Drop-out rate26.2%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$21k

Out-of-state tuition$21k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity39.2%

Gender diversity49.6%

International5.6%

Identity—

Overview

William Jewell College, in Liberty, Missouri, just outside Kansas City, is a liberal-arts college with historic Baptist roots and a reputation for rigorous, discussion-based education. Its identity centers on a critical-thinking core curriculum rather than narrow pre-professional training, and its small size keeps that emphasis genuinely lived-in rather than just a mission-statement line. Students who thrive here tend to enjoy being pushed to defend their thinking in seminar rather than absorbing lectures passively.

Academics

The Oxbridge Honors Program, modeled directly on British tutorial education, lets qualified students work one-on-one or in very small groups with faculty across disciplines, a format genuinely rare among American colleges outside a handful of peer honors programs. William Jewell is also known for strong pre-health preparation feeding into medical and other health-professional programs, and small classes throughout -- not just in the honors track -- support close faculty mentorship across majors.

Campus & student life

A celebrated a cappella choir is a point of campus pride and a visible, well-traveled part of student culture. The small-town Liberty setting, itself historically notable as the site of the first successful daylight bank robbery in American peacetime history, gives students both a quiet residential campus and easy access to Kansas City for internships, entertainment, and a bigger-city social scene when they want it.

Getting in

Admission emphasizes intellectual curiosity and readiness for the demanding core curriculum over pure numbers, with the Oxbridge honors track requiring a separate, more selective application on top of general admission. Essays and interviews often probe a student's appetite for close, discussion-heavy learning rather than lecture-hall coursework, and students who can point to real experience with seminar-style discussion tend to stand out in the applicant pool.

After graduation

Strong pre-health preparation sends a meaningful share of graduates into medical and other health-professional programs, and the Oxbridge program in particular has a track record of preparing students for competitive graduate study across disciplines. The college's small size supports a tight, engaged alumni network concentrated in the Kansas City region.

Worth knowing

The Oxbridge honors program's tutorial format is a genuine rarity nationally and a major differentiator for students who want it specifically -- it's worth applying for deliberately rather than assuming it's just a label on regular coursework. Historic Baptist roots inform the college's values without dominating a now largely nondenominational student experience.

jewell.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate38.4%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1080–1270 · ACT 18–24

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App or Own application.

Priority / scholarshipDec 1

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗