A private R1 research university in Atlanta, GA, admitting 10.65% of applicants adjacent to the CDC and one of the Southeast's leading academic health systems.
Atlanta, Georgia
Emory University is a private R1 research university in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1836 by the Methodist Episcopal Church. It enrolls 7,298 undergraduates and 7,768 graduate students across four undergraduate divisions: Emory College of Arts and Sciences, Oxford College (a two-year residential college in Oxford, Georgia), the Goizueta Business School, and the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Biological sciences, business, social sciences, and neuroscience account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Emory holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Emory is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) campus borders Emory's main Atlanta campus, creating research partnerships available to few universities outside of federal research institutions.
Official website: emory.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Emory scores 83.33 overall, rated Strong. Outcomes (96.01) reflects a 91.09% six-year graduation rate, strong pre-health graduate pipelines, and substantial instructional investment of $55,602 per student per year. Value scores 76.08, reflecting an average net price of $22,585 relative to strong but not top-decile earnings. Affordability scores 26.02. All scores use verified federal data only.
Emory is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 10.65% of applicants. Emory is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,520 on the SAT, with the middle 50% ACT range between 32 and 35. Emory uses the Common App with supplemental essays.
Emory has two application tracks for undergraduates: Emory College (Atlanta main campus) and Oxford College (two-year residential program in Oxford, GA, transferring to Emory for junior year). Early Decision I is due November 1 (binding); Early Decision II is due January 1 (binding); Regular Decision is due January 3. The Oxford College track has a slightly higher acceptance rate and the same degree is awarded upon graduation.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Emory University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Emory charges $64,280 in tuition plus $20,220 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $84,500 before aid. Emory meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic students, with no loans in aid packages. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $22,585. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $7,363. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $9,220. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $13,821. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $53,018.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Emory completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 91.09% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 87.60%, and first-year retention stands at 95.93%. Emory's federal loan rate of 10.61% and median debt of $18,250 are consistent with a school that meets 100% of demonstrated need without loans, with borrowing concentrated among students who choose to take loans beyond their aid award.
Emory graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $74,980 six years after first enrolling and $80,137 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 88.69% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
The ten-year earnings figure is lower than at peer institutions with heavier technology or finance concentrations, partly reflecting Emory's pre-health and pre-medical pipeline: a significant share of graduates enter medical school directly, depressing the ten-year median in the same way as Johns Hopkins, as many are still in residency at the ten-year measurement window. Goizueta Business School and pre-law graduates typically earn above the institutional median; humanities and social sciences graduates show more variation.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
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.
Emory enrolls 7,298 undergraduates on the Druid Hills campus in Atlanta, Georgia, a residential neighborhood approximately five miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. Asian students account for 25.08% of undergraduates; white 29.94%, Hispanic 12.11%, and Black 10.39%. Eighteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 16.39% are first-generation college students.
Atlanta is the business and economic capital of the Southeast, with major industries in finance, technology, media, logistics, and healthcare. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campus is physically adjacent to Emory, creating one of the most concentrated global health research environments in the world; the Carter Center is also located nearby.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Emory University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Emory University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 118 distinct programs across 23 majors. 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.
Emory operates at a 9:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 76.29% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $55,602 per year, reflecting substantial investment in biomedical and public health research infrastructure. The endowment stands at $12.40 billion, the fourth-largest outside the Ivy League and comparable to the University of Notre Dame.
Emory School of Medicine is ranked among the top medical schools in the country and operates Emory Healthcare, the largest health system in Georgia. The Goizueta Business School holds AACSB accreditation and ranks among the top business programs in the Southeast.
1,612 instructional faculty across 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 616 | 38% | $198,419 |
| Associate Professors | 475 | 29% | $128,093 |
| Assistant Professors | 428 | 27% | $102,806 |
| Instructors | 93 | 6% | $76,344 |
Emory's defining strengths are its $12.40B endowment (fourth largest outside the Ivy League), strong pre-health infrastructure including Emory Healthcare and CDC adjacency, a 10.61% federal loan rate consistent with its no-loan aid policy, and Atlanta as a growing business capital. UCD 83.33 Strong, Outcomes 96.01.
The trade-offs are primarily in earnings and cost: ten-year earnings of $80,137 are lower than at peer institutions, partly due to the pre-medical pipeline; the average net price of $22,585 is higher than at Vanderbilt ($15,846) or Rice ($13,370); and the 76.29% full-time faculty rate is lower than at most peer schools. Best fit for students targeting pre-medicine, global health, neuroscience, or business in a major Southern city, who qualify for need-based aid and will benefit from the research environment created by the CDC, Emory Healthcare, and the Carter Center.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Emory: how selective admissions are, what the Oxford College track is, how earnings compare to peer schools, and what makes the Atlanta location distinctive.
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