Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VA
Virginia Commonwealth University is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia, a midsize city, with 20,753 undergraduates. The arts and criminal justice are its signature fields: together they make up 20% of its bachelor's degrees, about three times their share across the colleges we cover. 63% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $58,128 ten years after starting.
Virginia Commonwealth University admitted 19,572 of 21,201 applicants for the fall 2024 entering class (92.3%).
- Acceptance rate
- 92.3%
- Fall 2024 class
- In-state tuition
- $16,945
- $40,109 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $23,433
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1010–1260
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2024 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Virginia Commonwealth University is known for
Measured by the 4,875 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
The arts
12.3%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.9% share across the colleges we cover.
Criminal justice
7.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: three and a half times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Psychology49010.1% of degrees$51,440About the $50,706 national median
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas3427.0% of degrees$59,442+16% vs $51,389 nationally
- Biology3397.0% of degrees$58,420About the $57,214 national median
- Design and Applied Arts3226.6% of degrees$53,575About the $51,490 national median
- Criminal Justice and Corrections2364.8% of degrees$58,792+6% vs $55,378 nationally
- Business/Commerce2184.5% of degrees$68,387About the $68,407 national median
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Midsize city
Richmond, VA
Undergraduates
20,753
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
17 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
2%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Virginia Commonwealth University
Three things Virginia Commonwealth University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
17 admitted from a waitlist of 28.
28 students accepted a place on that list, and 17 were admitted from it, 60.7% of the students who waited. A waitlist offer here is not a near-miss anyone can plan around.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
33.7% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 3% sent an ACT. Virginia Commonwealth University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Families paid $23,433 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
92.3%
19,572 admitted of 21,201 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
SAT, middle 50%
1010–1260
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
ACT, middle 50%
22–30
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Average GPA of admitted students
3.63
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
33.7%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
3%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Where do you actually stand at Virginia Commonwealth University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Virginia Commonwealth University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $16,945 ($40,109 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $38,954. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $23,433 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$16,945
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$40,109
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$38,954
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$23,433
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $38,954 full cost.
- Under $30k$17,512Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$17,777Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$20,925Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$24,691Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$32,739Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
63%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
85%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$58,128
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$21,500
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What Virginia Commonwealth University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- GPAvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Essayimportant
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Not considered
- Legacy
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
The waitlist, as the school reported it
Published counts, including the ones schools rarely lead with.
- Offered a waitlist place
- 28
- Accepted the place
- 28
- Admitted from the waitlist
- 17
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Essays on this application
2 essay prompts on the application: 1 is optional, and 1 is not yet confirmed.
A prompt we have not yet confirmed is counted on its own rather than called optional, treating an unconfirmed prompt as optional is how a student skips an essay their college expects.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Regular DecisionJanuary 18, 2027
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Virginia
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Old Dominion University91.4%
- Bridgewater College90.8%
- University of Virginia's College at Wise93.9%
- Radford University90.6%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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