Centra College is a private nonprofit institution offering bachelor's degrees based in Lynchburg, Virginia. It enrolls 219 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.
AccreditorAccrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
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.
Strong
80/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Open / Online
Outcomes98
Value—
Affordability59
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Centra College admits 100% of applicants, which makes it open to most qualified applicants, so admission is unlikely to be the hurdle.
Acceptance Rate
100%
Open
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test PolicyTest OptionalApplicants choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores.
5-Year Admission Trend
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Centra College is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. Centra College has not reported one, so ask the financial aid office for a written estimate before comparing it against anywhere else.
Average Net Price
—
Per year, after typical aid
Receive Pell Grants
47%
Need-based federal aid
Receive Federal Loans
69%
Borrowing to attend
Full Cost Breakdown
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees
$12,983
Room & Board (off-campus)
$12,424
Books & Supplies
$1,373
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$12,067
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$9,50025%percentile
$15,250Medianpercentile
$20,00075%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $12,000
↓ $3,250
No Pell $10,875
↓ $4,375
Dependent students $8,125
↓ $7,125
Independent students $14,750
↓ $500
Female students $12,000
↓ $3,250
Male students $12,667
↓ $2,583
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $3,668, less than completers ($15,250), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
87% of students who start here finish within six years, and 100% come back after first year. Most people who start here leave with the degree they came for. 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.
6-Year Graduation Rate
87%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
100%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Strong completion signals. Most students who start, finish.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $60,122 a year, above the national median. That is a healthy return for most cost levels. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$60,122
Earning > $25K
80%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Stable ↓
1.3 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 76% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 219 students, an intimate, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 56% are the first in their family to go to college, and 87% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.
Total Enrolled
219
Part-Time
87%
First-Generation
56%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 73.5%161
Black 14.6%32
Other 8.7%19
Asian 1.4%3
Hispanic 0.5%1
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Centra College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Setting
Small CityLynchburg, Virginia
Housing
Commuter campusNo on-campus housing
Adult Learners
50%of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NAIAathletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semesterscheduling structure
What You Can Study
Centra College offers
a focused set of programs:
3 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 6 students for every instructor here: small classes, and staff who are likely to know your name.
Student : Faculty
6:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Avg Faculty Salary
$69,429
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
22 instructional faculty across 1 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
No Rank
22
100%
$69,429
Pros & Cons of Centra College
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Centra College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Narrow program catalog compared to mid-sized peers
Mostly part-time student body, less full-time campus feel
Best for:
Based on the data, Centra College is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; working adults or students needing part-time study options; students who thrive in small, close-knit environments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Centra College
The questions families ask most about Centra College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Centra College hard to get into?
Not especially. Centra College admits most qualified applicants, with an acceptance rate of 100%. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Centra College?
100% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Centra College known for?
Mostly Nursing, Practical Nursing, Nursing. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Centra College graduates earn?
About $60,122 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Centra College accredited?
Yes. Centra College is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
How many students attend Centra College?
219 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Centra College?
87% finish within six years. Most people who start here graduate, which is the signal you want. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Centra College a public or private college?
It is Private Nonprofit. Private nonprofit, so the sticker price is higher but institutional aid is often larger too.
Where is Centra College located?
Centra College is located in Lynchburg, Virginia.
What programs does Centra College offer?
3 different programs, most commonly Nursing, Practical Nursing, Nursing. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Centra College?
6 students per instructor. Low enough that staff are likely to know who you are. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in Virginia
Other colleges in Virginia share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Liberal Arts
Business Administration
Information Systems
Related Guides
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
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.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
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.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
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.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.