Riverside College of Health Sciences is a private nonprofit institution offering bachelor's degrees based in Newport News, Virginia. It enrolls 350 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 Selective), 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
75/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes50
Value65
Affordability63
Selectivity97
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Riverside College of Health Sciences admits 12.9% of applicants, which makes it genuinely competitive, so your application needs to be strong.
Acceptance Rate
12.9%
Very Selective
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 Riverside College of Health Sciences is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Getting more selective ↓
43.3 pts
since 2019
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. At $20,744 a year on average, it sits in line with what private nonprofit colleges charge nationally. Plan for the gap between that and what you can pay without borrowing. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees
$17,250
Room & Board (off-campus)
$7,353
Books & Supplies
$1,120
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$3,670
Total Cost of Attendance
$27,018
Application fee: $100 (one-time, due at submission)
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.
$5,83310%percentile
$9,50025%percentile
$14,787Medianpercentile
$18,50375%percentile
$22,66890%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 $14,250
↓ $537
No Pell $14,222
↓ $565
Dependent students $12,375
↓ $2,412
Independent students $15,250
↑ $463
Female students $14,250
↓ $537
Male students $13,500
↓ $1,287
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $4,750, less than completers ($14,787), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
91% of students who start here finish within six years, and 40% 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
91%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
40%
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 $66,072 a year, above the national median. That is a healthy return for most cost levels. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$66,072
Earning > $25K
83%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
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.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
7.4 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 70% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 350 students, an intimate, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 34% are the first in their family to go to college.
Total Enrolled
350
Part-Time
28%
First-Generation
34%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 58.9%206
Black 24.6%86
Other 9.2%32
Hispanic 4.6%16
Asian 2.6%9
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Riverside College of Health Sciences. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Setting
Midsize CityNewport News, Virginia
Housing
Commuter campusNo on-campus housing
Adult Learners
57%of students are 25 or older
Athletics
NAIAathletic-conference member
Academic Calendar
Semesterscheduling structure
What You Can Study
Riverside College of Health Sciences offers
a focused set of programs:
6 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 12 students for every instructor here: about average, so expect a mix of small seminars and big lectures.
Student : Faculty
12:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Avg Faculty Salary
$74,185
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
27 instructional faculty across 3 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
1
4%
$101,116
Assistant Professors
20
74%
$76,181
Instructors
6
22%
$63,043
Pros & Cons of Riverside College of Health Sciences
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Riverside College of Health Sciences is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Highly competitive admissions, many strong applicants are rejected
Fewer clubs, activities, and social options
First-year retention is below typical
Most students take on federal loans
No graduate programs offered at this institution
Best for:
Based on the data, Riverside College of Health Sciences is a fit for
students prioritizing post-graduation earnings; students seeking a highly selective peer group; students who thrive in small, close-knit environments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Riverside College of Health Sciences
The questions families ask most about Riverside College of Health Sciences, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Riverside College of Health Sciences hard to get into?
Riverside College of Health Sciences is highly selective. Its acceptance rate is 12.9%, so admitted students generally have strong grades, competitive test scores, and a well-rounded application.
What is the acceptance rate at Riverside College of Health Sciences?
12.9% of applicants are admitted. Fewer than a third of applicants get in, so treat it as a stretch rather than a safe bet. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
How much does Riverside College of Health Sciences cost?
Budget around $20,744 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Riverside College of Health Sciences worth it?
On the numbers, yes: solid return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $66,072 a year against a net price of $20,744, about 3.2 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Riverside College of Health Sciences known for?
Mostly Nursing, Allied Health Diagnostic, 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 Riverside College of Health Sciences graduates earn?
About $66,072 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 Riverside College of Health Sciences accredited?
Yes. Riverside College of Health Sciences is accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
How many students attend Riverside College of Health Sciences?
350 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 Riverside College of Health Sciences?
91% finish within six years. Most people who start here graduate, which is the signal you want. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Riverside College of Health Sciences 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 Riverside College of Health Sciences located?
Riverside College of Health Sciences is located in Newport News, Virginia.
What programs does Riverside College of Health Sciences offer?
6 different programs, most commonly Nursing, Allied Health Diagnostic, 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 Riverside College of Health Sciences?
12 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.
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.
