Ferrum College vs. Bluefield State College

Ferrum College vs. Bluefield State College comparison

	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Location	Ferrum, VA	Bluefield, WV
Setting	Distant Rural	Rural Fringe
Enrollment	767	1,270
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking		#986
Religious Affiliation	United Methodist	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	ferrum.edu	bluefieldstate.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Tuition (In State)	$37,400	$9,240
Tuition (Out of State)	$37,400	$16,560
Room & Board	$13,230	$11,327
Avg Net Price	$22,521	$14,500
Avg Grant Aid	$32,061	$9,634
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	98%

Admission	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,483	720
Admitted	1,483	628
Acceptance Rate	100%	87.2%
Enrolled %	16.3%	34.4%
Avg High School GPA	3.14	3.41
Typical High School Grades	B	B+
Admissions Standards	Extremely Easy	Extremely Easy
Applicant Competition
ACT Range		17/22
SAT Range	880/1100	870/1080
Submit Test Scores	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Sep 15, 2025	Aug 1, 2026

Academics	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Student to Faculty Ratio	11:1	17:1
Popular Majors	Business (20%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (10%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (8%) Education (7%) Psychology (6%)	Health Professions (29%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (16%) Engineering Technology (16%) Business (11%) Education (9%)
Outcomes	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Graduation Rate	31%	22%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$39,000	$31,800
Making Student Loan Payments	49%	30%
Median Student Loan Debt	$28,000	$19,000
Median Loan Payment	$289	$196

Diversity	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
% Men	1%	0%
% Women	1%	1%
Racial Diversity	High	Very Low
HBCU	No	Yes
% White	52%	85%
% Black	34%	9%
% Hispanic	5%	1%
% Native American	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	6%	1%
% International	1%	2%
% Unknown Race	1%	1%

Students	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
% In-State	68%	54%
% Out-of-State	31%	46%
Campus	Ferrum College	Bluefield State College
Campus Housing	Yes	No
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	No
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Bluefield State College is larger than than Ferrum College based on total student enrollment (1,270 students vs. 767 students)

Ferrum College vs. Bluefield State College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Ferrum College or Bluefield State College?

• Ferrum College is 304.8% more expensive to attend than Bluefield State College for in-state tuition ($37,400.00 vs. $9,240.00)
• Out of state tuition is 125.8% higher at Ferrum College than Bluefield State College ($37,400.00 vs. $16,560.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Bluefield State College than Ferrum College ($14,500 vs. $22,521)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Bluefield State College are 16.8% lower than costs at Ferrum College ($11,327 vs. $13,230)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Ferrum College than Bluefield State College (100% vs. 98%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Ferrum College students is 232.8% larger than aid received Bluefield State College ($32,061 vs. $9,634)

Ferrum College vs. Bluefield State College Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Ferrum College or Bluefield State College? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Bluefield State College or Ferrum College .

• The average SAT score at Bluefield State College (934) is 53 points higher than at Ferrum College (881)
• Incoming Bluefield State College students have a 2 point higher average ACT score (20) than students at Ferrum College (18)
• Accepted freshman Bluefield State College students have a 0.27 point higher average high school GPA (3.41) than students at Ferrum College (3.14)
• Ferrum College has a higher acceptance rate (100%) than Bluefield State College (87.2%)

Ferrum College vs. Bluefield State College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Ferrum College or Bluefield State College? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Bluefield State College and Ferrum College.

• The graduation rate at Ferrum College is higher than Bluefield State College (31% vs. 22%)
• Graduates from Ferrum College earn on average $7,200 more per year than Bluefield State College graduates after ten years. ($39,000 vs. $31,800)
• Bluefield State College students graduate with a $9,000 lower median federal student loan debt than Ferrum College graduates. ($19,000 vs. $28,000)
• Bluefield State College graduates are paying $93 less per month on federal student loans than Ferrum College graduates. ($196 vs. $289)
• More Ferrum College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Bluefield State College students, three years after graduation. (49% vs. 30%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/