Photo: Brian Stansberry (CC BY 4.0)
School data & stats
Outcomes
Cost
Community
Overview
Gardner-Webb University is a private Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, in the foothills west of Charlotte, affiliated historically with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Faith runs through campus culture more than at a nominally church-affiliated school, and Division I athletics give the small campus a visibility and identity larger than its size would suggest.
Academics
Nursing, divinity, and education are the longest-standing and most respected programs, with the divinity school in particular reflecting the university's deep Baptist roots. Class sizes stay small across most majors, consistent with the university's identity as a teaching-focused institution rather than a research one.
Campus & student life
The Boiling Springs setting is small-town and rural, a contrast to nearby Charlotte, and campus life centers on residential community, chapel and faith activities, and Division I sports — Gardner-Webb competes in the Big South Conference, unusual for a school its size, and it gives football and basketball weekends real weight in student culture.
Getting in
Applications are reviewed holistically, and Christian faith commitment, or at least comfort with an actively religious campus culture, is a relevant, if not always explicit, factor.
After graduation
Nursing and education graduates have strong placement across the Carolinas, and divinity graduates go on largely into Baptist and other Protestant ministry roles.
Worth knowing
The combination of a small, conservative-leaning Baptist campus with Division I athletics is a genuinely distinctive pairing — worth knowing for a student who wants serious college-sports atmosphere without a large university around it.
Admissions
Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)
Applying
gardner-webb.edu ↗High school coursework
RequiredNo fixed pattern of high school credits is prescribed; minimum distribution below is recommended only
Recommended4 units of English · 2 units of Social Science · 2 units of Algebra · 2 units of Foreign Language · 2 units of Natural Science · 1 unit of Geometry
Your fit, with your own numbers
With a free Dorado account, this tab fills in from your own profile and course plan:
- A chance band (Far Reach to Likely) calibrated against real admitted-student data — published test-score ranges and, where a school reports them, Common Data Set GPA profiles — with plain-English reasons.
- A fit breakdown across testing, grades, course rigor, activities, and honors, side by side with the numbers the school publishes.
- Deadline countdowns where verified application dates are on file.
Creating an account is free and takes no card — college search, list tracking, and fit are all included.
Create your free account