A private women-only HBCU in Atlanta, GA, admitting 24.87% of applicants with a 78.46% graduation rate and one of the most selective admissions profiles of any HBCU.
Atlanta, Georgia
Spelman College is a private historically Black liberal arts college for women in Atlanta, Georgia, founded in 1881. It enrolls 3,414 undergraduates in Atlanta's West End neighborhood, as a core member of the Atlanta University Center Consortium alongside Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse School of Medicine. Biology, psychology, English, computer and information sciences, and economics account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
Spelman holds a Baccalaureate: Arts and Sciences Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Spelman is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Spelman is consistently ranked among the top HBCUs in the United States and is the only women's HBCU to appear regularly in national liberal arts college rankings. Spelman's STEM pipeline programs and partnerships with NASA, Google, and national research laboratories are a defining feature of its academic identity.
Official website: spelman.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Spelman scores 64.64 overall, rated Fair. Outcomes (90.22) reflects a 78.46% six-year graduation rate and an exceptional 93.94% first-year retention, both the highest in this HBCU batch. Selectivity scores 79.52, reflecting a 24.87% admit rate. Affordability scores 20.60. Value scores 6.21, constrained by the high net price of $38,967 relative to ten-year median earnings of $59,993. All scores use verified federal data only.
Spelman admits 24.87% of applicants, making it the most selective of the three HBCUs in this batch and one of the most selective women's colleges in the country. Spelman is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores show a competitive academic profile. Spelman uses the Common App with required supplemental essays. The early action deadline is November 1 (non-binding); the regular decision deadline is February 1. The 24.87% admit rate reflects Spelman's national reputation and the strong self-selection of applicants who specifically seek the women's HBCU experience.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Spelman College is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Spelman charges $31,556 in tuition plus $18,091 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $50,952 before aid. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $38,967. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $32,923. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $34,108. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $38,640.
For families earning above $110,000, it averages $44,529. Spelman's endowment stands at approximately $799 million, the largest per-student endowment of any HBCU in the Atlanta University Center, which allows modestly deeper grant aid than Morehouse. The federal loan rate of 48.14% and median debt of $25,000 remain high; approximately half of Spelman students carry federal loans.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $40 (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.
Spelman graduates the large majority of students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 78.46% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students, the highest in this HBCU batch. First-year retention stands at 93.94%, one of the highest of any institution in this peer group. The four-year graduation rate is 63.06%. The federal loan rate of 48.14% and median debt of $25,000 are significant; the high net price relative to Spelman's endowment means students without substantial scholarships carry meaningful debt.
Spelman graduates enter careers in medicine, law, business, government, and the sciences at above-average rates for liberal arts colleges. Median earnings are $45,676 six years after first enrolling and $59,993 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 81.25% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate.
The ten-year earnings reflect Spelman's strong pre-medicine and STEM pipeline: a significant share of Spelman graduates proceed to graduate and professional programs in medicine, public health, law, and science, where full career earnings emerge beyond the ten-year Scorecard window. Spelman's STEM initiatives include partnerships with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Google, and national laboratory systems. Atlanta's professional economy, including its large healthcare sector, law firms, Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, and film industry, provides direct employment access for graduates.
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.
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.
Spelman enrolls 3,414 women on its campus in Atlanta's West End neighborhood, immediately adjacent to Morehouse College. Black students account for 85.59% of undergraduates. Approximately 27.83% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, reflecting a meaningful share of students from lower- and middle-income families. The median family income of enrolled students is approximately $43,781.
Cross-registration through the Atlanta University Center Consortium allows Spelman women to take courses at Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and other member institutions. Spelman's alumni network includes some of the most prominent Black women in American public life, including Alice Walker, Stacey Abrams, LaToya Cantrell, and leaders in medicine, law, science, and government.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Spelman College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Spelman College offers a varied set of programs: 28 distinct programs across 18 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.
Spelman operates at a student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1. 69.52% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, above the Morehouse rate and closer to the peer group average. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $15,850 per year. The endowment stands at approximately $799 million, the largest in the Atlanta University Center Consortium.
Spelman operates research centers in women's health, STEM education, and social justice. The Spelman-Morehouse dual degree program in engineering, in partnership with Georgia Tech, Auburn, and other engineering schools, provides a path to both a Spelman liberal arts degree and an engineering degree.
195 instructional faculty across 5 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 | 30 | 15% | $121,864 |
| Associate Professors | 58 | 30% | $90,876 |
| Assistant Professors | 51 | 26% | $73,768 |
| Instructors | 16 | 8% | $63,811 |
| Lecturers | 40 | 21% | $66,778 |
Spelman's defining strengths are its 78.46% six-year graduation rate (best in the HBCU batch), its exceptional 93.94% first-year retention, its status as the most selective HBCU women's college in the country, and an alumni network embedded deeply in Black American professional and public life. UCD 64.64 Fair. The financial considerations are significant: the average net price of $38,967 is high relative to a limited endowment; the federal loan rate of 48.14% means nearly half of students carry debt; and ten-year earnings of $59,993 are constrained by the ten-year window's inability to capture full earnings of graduates in professional school pipelines.
The value of the Spelman experience, its mission, and its alumni network are real and extend well beyond what Scorecard metrics capture. Best fit for students who specifically seek the women's HBCU experience, who are drawn to Spelman's STEM pipeline and Atlanta University Center community, and who can secure merit scholarships or institutional aid that meaningfully reduces net cost below the average.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Spelman: how selective it is, what the Atlanta University Center provides, how the STEM programs work, and what graduates are known for.
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