Mercer University

Private · Moderately Selective · GA

Photo: Gulbenk (CC BY-SA 3.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationGA · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads4,500

Student:faculty11:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate61.2%

6-yr grad rate69.6%

Drop-out rate17.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$42k

Out-of-state tuition$42k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity59.4%

Gender diversity64.6%

International2.6%

Identity—

Overview

A private university in Macon, Georgia, one of the state's oldest, with Baptist roots and a professional reach unusually broad for a school its size — engineering, law, medicine, and pharmacy all operate alongside a liberal arts core rather than being reserved for a much larger research university.

Academics

The combination of undergraduate liberal arts with full professional schools in law, medicine, pharmacy, and engineering gives Mercer students at every level access to graduate-level facilities and faculty uncommon at comparably sized private universities. Mercer On Mission, which sends students on service-engineering projects abroad, is a distinctive point of campus pride and a real differentiator in how the university frames hands-on, applied learning.

Campus & student life

Macon's musical heritage lends the surrounding setting a distinct Southern character, and the campus itself carries a traditional, tree-lined private-university feel. Religious life carries some presence given the Baptist origins, though the university today operates with a broadly ecumenical character rather than a strict faith requirement.

Getting in

Applications are read holistically, with essays and demonstrated interest carrying real weight alongside academic record; students aiming for Mercer's medicine, law, pharmacy, or engineering pipelines can benefit from signaling that direction early, since the university's professional schools give strong undergraduates a path to stay within the same institution.

After graduation

Graduates move into Georgia and broader Southeastern professional networks in law, medicine, pharmacy, and engineering at a notable rate, aided by the university's own professional schools acting as a built-in graduate pipeline for its undergraduates.

Worth knowing

Mercer On Mission is a genuine, well-established program, not a marketing gloss — it sends students abroad to build infrastructure or deliver services as part of coursework, combining engineering or health training with direct service work.

mercer.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate68.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1160–1350 · ACT 25–31

Test policyoptional

Rec letters—

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Regular decisionFeb 1

Applying