Sweet Briar College
U.S. News Liberal Arts 2027
#150
Acceptance rate
75.5%
2025
Peer median 69.4%
Tuition per year
$26,160
$41,390 with room and board
Peer median $33,770
Undergraduates
444
Student-faculty ratio 9:1
Peer median 11 : 1
Graduation rate
59.7%
4-year; 6-year rate 61.2%
Peer median 45.1%
“Peers” are all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S. (by Carnegie Classification).
About
- Type
- Private nonprofit, 4-year
- Location
- Sweet Briar, Virginia
- Website
- www.sbc.edu
- Undergraduates
- 444
- Student-faculty ratio
- 9 : 1
This collegeRanked colleges nearby
- Setting
- Rural, near a city
- Nearest major city
- Richmond, about 90 mi
- Nearest international airport
- Richmond International Airport (RIC), about 100 mi
- Academic calendar
- Semester
- Religious affiliation
- Not applicable
- President
- Mary Pope Maybank Hutson (President)
- Phone
- 4343816100
- City
- Sweet Briar, Virginia
- Address
- 134 Chapel Drive, Sweet Briar, VA 24595-9998
Rankings & Admission
Peer median 69.4% · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Test Scores
2025 admitted students, 25th–75th percentile · 9% submitted SAT, 0% submitted ACT · SAT/ACT optional: considered if submitted
How Hard Is It to Get In
about 8 in 10
1,239 applicants in 2025, 75.5% admitted
936 admitted 303 not admitted Yield 13.2%
Degrees & Majors
Graduates in 2025 (first major)
U.S. studentsInternational
All majors, graduates and earnings IPEDS · College Scorecard
*Depends on whether majors have graduates in 2025 or not, Yes / No
**Move mouse on can check deitaled graudates number, click for major detailed information
***Due to privacy policy, graduate salaries are not shown for some majors that has few gradautes
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Business/Commerce, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Biology/Biological Sciences, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Archeology. | - | |
| Economics, General. | - | |
| Political Science and Government, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Engineering Science. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | - | |
| Fine/Studio Arts, General. | - | |
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| History, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Creative Writing. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Elementary Education and Teaching. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Environmental Science. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry, General. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Philosophy. | - |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics, General. | - |
Students
444 students in 2025 · Undergraduate men to women 0:100 · Freshman retention 69.3%
- Continuing undergraduates 313
- First-year undergraduates 124
- Transfers and others 7
Undergraduate race and ethnicity (444)
Age distribution
Bachelor's
International Students
International share over the last 10 years · gray line: median of all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
38 in 2025 · 2.5% in 2016
0 in 2023 · 0.0% in 2016
Cost
2025 cost per year
$41,390
- Undergraduate tuition
- $26,160
- Room and board
- $15,230
- Graduate tuition
- $12,750
Peer median tuition + room and board $46,780 · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Tuition rose -25% from 2016 to 2025; room and board rose 25%.
Finances · fiscal year 2024
Revenue$40.6M
Expenses$34.9M
Average faculty salary · 2025 (9-month equivalent)
Dark gray ticks: median pay for the same rank at all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Campus Life
Athletics and varsity athletes NCAA · Old Dominion Athletic Conference
Old Dominion Athletic Conference: cross country
No athlete data available for 2025.
No athlete data available for 2024.
No athlete data available for 2023.
Nearby & Safety
Ranked colleges nearby
-
Virginia Military InstituteLexington · 25.3 mi
Liberal Arts #62
-
Washington and Lee UniversityLexington · 25.5 mi
Liberal Arts #12
-
University of Virginia-Main CampusCharlottesville · 45.7 mi
U.S. News #26
-
James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg · 61.8 mi
U.S. News #137
-
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityBlacksburg · 77.1 mi
U.S. News #52
-
University of RichmondUniversity of Richmond · 84.5 mi
Liberal Arts #21
-
Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond · 89.2 mi
U.S. News #156
-
Elon UniversityElon · 103.0 mi
U.S. News #100
-
Duke UniversityDurham · 107.8 mi
U.S. News #8
Peer median 8.9 · all 403 private baccalaureate colleges in the U.S.
Incidents, 2023–2025
From the Clery Act campus safety reports schools file, covering on-campus, non-campus and public property.
Notable Alumni
Notable alumni of Sweet Briar College include Diana Muldaur (Film and television actress), Kitty Joyner (Electrical engineer at NACA and NASA) and Sally Miller Gearhart (Teacher, radical feminist and science fiction writer).
-
Diana Muldaur 1938–
Film and television actress
-
Kitty Joyner 1916–1993
Electrical engineer at NACA and NASA
-
Sally Miller Gearhart 1931–2021
Teacher, radical feminist and science fiction writer
-
Molly Haskell 1939–
Film critic and author
-
Elaine Dundy 1921–2008
Novelist, biographer and journalist
-
Janet Lee Bouvier 1907–1989
Socialite; mother of Jacqueline Kennedy
-
Patsy Ticer 1935–2017
Democratic politician from Virginia
-
Mary Lee Settle 1918–2005
Novelist who won the 1978 National Book Award
-
Marjory Collins 1912–1985
Photographer covering the US home front in World War II
More alumni (7, by field)
Politics and law
-
Teresa Tomlinson 1965–
Democratic politician and attorney
Business
-
Leah Busque 1979–
Founder of TaskRabbit
Arts and media
-
Colleen Bell 1967–
Television producer and ambassador to Hungary
-
Caroline Russell Compton 1907–1987
Noted Mississippi painter
-
Anne Poulet 1942–
Art historian and expert in French sculpture
-
Ann Taylor 1945–
NPR newscaster on All Things Considered
-
Irene Beasley 1904–1980
Singer, composer and radio personality
From Wikidata “educated at” records (including people who attended without graduating), ordered by the number of Wikipedia language editions. Degrees and years follow Wikidata and are left out where it has none.
References and Data Sources
Data from IPEDS (U.S. Department of Education), U.S. News, THE, QS, ARWU and Clery Act campus safety reports. Data insights are written by the Forward Pathway data team from public data.