Georgia State University

Public · Moderately Selective · GA

Photo: JJonahJackalope (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationGA · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads26,623

Student:faculty25:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate33%

6-yr grad rate53.1%

Drop-out rate20.1%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$9k

Out-of-state tuition$25k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity84.6%

Gender diversity59.2%

International4.2%

Identity—

Overview

Georgia State University sits directly in downtown Atlanta with no defined campus perimeter, making the city itself the campus. It has become nationally known for using data-driven advising to raise graduation rates among first-generation and lower-income students, an approach studied and replicated at other universities around the country. Once known mainly as a commuter school, Georgia State has grown into a major research university with a large and increasingly diverse student body, and its identity now centers as much on access and student success as on the city surrounding it.

Academics

Business through the J. Mack Robinson College, public policy through the Andrew Young School, and the sciences are particular strengths, often reinforced by Georgia State's close relationship with Atlanta's government, healthcare, and corporate institutions. The university's law school and public health programs also carry solid regional reputations. Georgia State's advising systems are themselves a point of pride, designed to use predictive data to catch struggling students early rather than let them quietly fall behind, and the approach has become a model cited well beyond Georgia.

Campus & student life

Because the campus is woven directly into downtown Atlanta, student life is inherently urban, with high-rise dormitories, city blocks standing in for a quad, and easy access to internships, government offices, and businesses just outside classroom doors. The university's football stadium, converted from the former home of the Atlanta Braves, symbolizes its unusual relationship with the city around it. Athletics and traditional campus rituals play a smaller role than in the surrounding city's rhythms, and MARTA access makes the wider metro area an extension of campus life.

Getting in

Admission is holistic but generally more accessible than Georgia's most selective public flagship, with the university's strong outcomes for first-generation and lower-income applicants making it an attractive option for students whose profiles might not fit a traditional highly selective mold. Standardized test scores and GPA still matter, but the university has built a reputation for taking chances on students other institutions might overlook, then supporting them intensively once enrolled.

After graduation

Atlanta's dense concentration of corporate headquarters, government agencies, and healthcare systems gives Georgia State graduates strong regional job placement, particularly in business, policy, and public administration fields, with many students transitioning directly from internships into full-time roles. The university's law and public health graduates likewise feed into Atlanta's court system, nonprofits, and hospital networks, reinforcing Georgia State's role as a pipeline into the city's civic and corporate institutions.

Worth knowing

Georgia State's turnaround from a commuter afterthought into a nationally cited model for student success is central to its identity, and prospective students should know that its advising infrastructure, automated alerts and proactive advisor outreach, is as much a part of the experience as any academic program. The stadium built from the Atlanta Braves' former ballpark is one of the more unusual repurposings of a major-league stadium in the country.

gsu.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate55.4%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 940–1180 · ACT 19–26

Test policyoptional

Rec letters0

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

AdmissionRolling

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App.

Financial aid formsApr 1

Georgia State's Early Action is nonbinding and gives priority consideration for the Honors College and top scholarships; there is no binding early decision plan.

Interviews: Georgia State does not require or offer an admissions interview for first-year applicants.

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗