Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

Guilford College

Students comparing Guilford College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Greensboro, North Carolina1,001 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 58Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentUrban campus

The short answer

Guilford College: U.S. News ranks it #165 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #796 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1075 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 1,001 undergraduates, admits 80.0% of applicants, and posts a 45.8% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $41,362; aid recipients pay $22,270 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $47,590.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
80.0%

About the dataset median

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$22,270

59% below the $54,762 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$47,590

Below the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
45.8%

Below the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$26,000

Below the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
1120–1260

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardSum of reported reading and math section percentiles for the most recent entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release. Section percentiles added together approximate, but do not exactly equal, the composite score range.

Where Guilford ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National Liberal Arts Colleges#165of 210Liberal arts colleges
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#796of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#1075of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Guilford's position moves 37 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Guilford

Guilford College is a private nonprofit institution in Greensboro, North Carolina. Federal data show 64.9% first-year retention and a 12:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $22,270 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $54,762 sticker cost against $22,270 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing Guilford College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$41,362

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
43.7%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$13,400

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $54,762 a year, but the average family pays $22,270 — a 59% difference. 43.7% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Guilford's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    12:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    64.9%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    1,001

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Guilford: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $41,362 and on-campus room and board is $13,400, for a published total of $54,762 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $22,270.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 80.0%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    Dillard University

    New Orleans, LAPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Dillard University: U.S. News ranks it #153 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #740 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1301 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 1,063 undergraduates, admits 41.9% of applicants, and posts a 43.3% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $23,918; aid recipients pay $22,094 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $39,196.

    Acceptance rate
    41.9%
    Average net price
    $22,094
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $39,196
    6-yr graduation rate
    43.3%
    US News · Liberal arts colleges#153 of 210Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#740 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#1301 of 2,605+1 more on profile

    1,063 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 57 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Lubbock Christian University

    Lubbock, TXPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Lubbock Christian University: U.S. News ranks it #78 on Regional Universities (West) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #1353 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #405 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 1,252 undergraduates, admits 73.1% of applicants, and posts a 51.4% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $28,540; aid recipients pay $24,456 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $53,787.

    Acceptance rate
    73.1%
    Average net price
    $24,456
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $53,787
    6-yr graduation rate
    51.4%
    US News · Regional univ. (West)#78 of 118Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1353 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#405 of 2,605

    1,252 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 57 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Centenary College of Louisiana

    Shreveport, LAPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Centenary College of Louisiana: U.S. News ranks it #136 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #1168 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #889 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 685 undergraduates, admits 55.7% of applicants, and posts a 56.2% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $41,200; aid recipients pay $23,624 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $50,330.

    Acceptance rate
    55.7%
    Average net price
    $23,624
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $50,330
    6-yr graduation rate
    56.2%
    US News · Liberal arts colleges#136 of 210Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1168 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#889 of 2,605

    685 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 59 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Guilford against these