See admissions data, costs, student outcomes, and academic programs, all verified from official US government sources.
Gainesville, Virginia
Thinking about Ascent College, a college in Virginia where more students graduate in Theology than anything else? The four things worth knowing are what it actually costs after aid, whether you would get in, whether students finish, and what they earn after they do.
Ascent College is a private nonprofit institution offering bachelor's degrees based in Gainesville, Virginia. It enrolls 82 students (a very small, intimate student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
Official website: ascent.edu
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Open / Online), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Ascent College does not report an acceptance rate. Schools that do not publish one are usually open-admission, but confirm with the admissions office before you assume it.
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. Ascent College has not reported one, so ask the financial aid office for a written estimate before comparing it against anywhere else.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $25 (one-time, due at submission)
100% come back after first year. Students who arrive tend to stay, which is usually a good sign. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
Ascent College has not reported graduate earnings. Where that figure is missing, the programs section below is the better guide, since pay follows the field you study more closely than the college you attend.
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 82 students, an intimate, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 100% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Ascent College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Ascent College offers a focused set of programs: 4 distinct programs across 1 major. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 8 students for every instructor here: small classes, and staff who are likely to know your name.
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Ascent College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Read against a single profile these cut both ways, which is why it helps to put two colleges side by side on the same measures rather than judging one in isolation.
The questions families ask most about Ascent College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
Scout uses AI and can make mistakes. Verify important numbers on the page.
