At a Glance
Emory admits 10.3% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Debt at Graduation
36.8%
receive need-based grant aid
$19,914
average debt at graduation
Emory graduates carry an average of $19,914 in debt.
Merit Aid
489
students received merit aid
$29,319
average merit award
Getting In
Emory admits 10.3% of applicants.
Emory University's Early Decision applicants are admitted at nearly 3x the rate of Regular Decision applicants — 22.2% vs 8.6%. Note: ED is binding — you commit to attending if admitted.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 47% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 21% of the class submitted
76% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
Emory University considers your essay Important — a strong essay can differentiate an otherwise average application. Demonstrated interest is Not Considered here — campus visits and emails to admissions won't affect your odds.
Student Life
63.4% of Emory classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At Emory, 63.4% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
8:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
From out of state (freshman class)
72.6%
Live on campus
58%
Men in fraternities
22%
Women in sororities
22%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
Emory's student body is 28% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
Emory graduates 81.6% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
Emory graduates 81.6% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
Emory
81.6%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $83,622
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
91%
Overall 6-yr rate
89%
Pell recipient rate
Lower-income students graduate at nearly the same rate as their peers — a sign of strong institutional support.
Freshman Retention
95%
95% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Atlanta.
Emory's campus sits in Druid Hills, a quiet, tree-lined neighborhood that borders Atlanta rather than sitting in its downtown core — the CDC, Emory Healthcare's hospital system, and Decatur's restaurant scene are all a few minutes away, while Midtown and Buckhead's bigger-city energy are a short drive rather than a walk. It suits students who want a self-contained, leafy campus with the city on call rather than at the front door.
Notable Alumni
Alben Barkley
35th vice president of the United States, serving under Harry Truman from 1949 to 1953.
Class of 1900
Bobby Jones
The only golfer to win the Grand Slam in a single year and founder of the Masters Tournament; earned his law degree at Emory in 1929 after his engineering degree at Georgia Tech.
Class of 1929
Kenneth Cole
Fashion designer and entrepreneur who founded Kenneth Cole Productions.
Class of 1976
Elizabeth Prelogar
48th Solicitor General of the United States, representing the federal government before the Supreme Court.
Class of 2002
Bernice King
Minister and civil rights activist who leads The King Center; the youngest child of Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr.
Class of 1990
Sonny Carter
NASA astronaut who flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-33 mission.
Class of 1969
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
The City
Major city
Atlanta, GA
Best For
Traditions
Dooley's Week
Lord Dooley, Emory's skeleton spirit figure, first appeared in an 1899 student newspaper gossip column and got his first physical costume in 1941. Each spring, Dooley and his masked bodyguards can dismiss any class they visit during a week of parades, concerts, comedy shows and athletic competitions, capped by a concert called Dooleypalooza.
Songfest
First-year students in each residence hall write and perform an original song about their new home, competing for awards judged by administrators — best banner, best lyrics, best T-shirt, and best overall. Alumni still trade stories about who won Songfest their year.
Wonderful Wednesday
On the first day of classes each semester, the Quad turns into a carnival — games, funnel cakes, popcorn and snow cones — as a low-key way to kick off the term together.
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Atlanta
North Georgia Mountains
1.5 hoursWaterfall hikes, the southern end of the Appalachian Trail, and small mountain towns like Helen and Dahlonega.
Chattanooga
2 hoursRock climbing, whitewater, and a riverfront downtown that has become one of the Southeast's best outdoor-sports bases.
Savannah
4 hoursSpanish moss, historic squares, and a short hop further to Tybee Island for the beach.
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL)
25 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Atlanta Braves MLB
- Atlanta Falcons NFL
- Atlanta Hawks NBA
- Atlanta United FC MLS
Career Proximity
Emory donated the land the CDC's headquarters now sits on, and the campus still borders it — public health, biotech and Emory Healthcare's own hospital system are minutes away, alongside Atlanta's concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- CDC
- Emory Healthcare
- American Cancer Society
- The Coca-Cola Company
- Deloitte
Midtown Atlanta — a short drive away
Who Thrives Here
Emory draws students who want an elite research university's resources without a mega-campus feel: a 10.3% admit rate, SAT scores clustering 1480-1540, and 63.4% of classes under 20 students, all on a leafy Druid Hills campus that borders the CDC and Emory Healthcare, Georgia's largest academic hospital system — a natural fit for pre-health and public-health-minded students. Financial aid backs that up: Emory meets 100% of demonstrated need for admitted first-years. The trade-off is in the admissions calendar and the social scene: Emory offers no non-binding Early Action, only binding Early Decision I/II or Regular Decision, so families who want to compare offers before committing anywhere have one fewer option here; and with no football team and Division III athletics, the social center of gravity runs through Greek life (22% of men, 22% of women) and residence-hall traditions like Songfest rather than gameday.