Central College

Overview

Rankings

• #7 Best Communications Colleges in Iowa
• #10 Best Biology Colleges in Iowa
• #13 Best Bachelor's Programs in Iowa
• #13 Best Master's Programs in Iowa
• #13 Best Computer Science Colleges in Iowa
• #13 Best Data Science Colleges in Iowa
• #14 Best Business Colleges in Iowa
• #17 Best Education Colleges in Iowa

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Central College? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Pella, Iowa, Central College admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 86%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,147. The graduation rate is roughly 68%.

Acceptance Rate

86%

Retention Rate

80%

SAT Average

1147

ACT Midpoint

22

SAT Range

1056–1120

ACT Range

20–26

Full-Time Faculty

81%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$7,780

Student–Faculty Ratio

13:1

Diversity Index

0.22

First-Gen Students

21%

Applicants

1,970

Admitted

1,561

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Central College is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 21% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

21%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

3%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

42%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Central College? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Central College is $20,988, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $23,377. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $16,231 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $26,984 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$20,988

Out-of-State

$20,988

Avg Net Price

$23,377

Median Debt

$26,984

Pell Grant Rate

22%

Federal Loan Rate

70%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Central College — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Central College Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Central College earn a median of $54,317, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$49,115

8 Years

$51,064

10 Years

$54,317

Debt-to-Earnings

0.5x

Earning > $25K

77%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Central College Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Central College is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 0.93%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 3.5% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 26.6% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $87,700, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

0.93%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

26.6%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

3.5%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$119,154

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Central College? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Central College. Its economic connectedness score is 1.75, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.02), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.75

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.02

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

6.6%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Federal Grants

$1,694,916

Investment Income

$-6,419,596

Top Programs

The fields Central College awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 20% $63,028 early-career
• Biology & Biomedical 10% $38,164 early-career
• Social Sciences 7% $37,207 early-career
• Education 7% $46,008 early-career
• Psychology 6% $29,935 early-career
• Communications 5% $43,782 early-career
• Engineering 4%
• English & Literature 4%

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.