Virginia · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's

Sweet Briar College

Sweet Briar, Virginia. 463 undergraduate students. 35 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Sweet Briar College

Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+13%

In-state tuition

In-state tuition at Sweet Briar College rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($23.1k → $26.2k).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING BETTER-100%

3-year cohort default rate

3-year cohort default rate at Sweet Briar College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.8% → 0.0%).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+13%

Out-of-state tuition

Out-of-state tuition at Sweet Briar College rose 13% between 2021 and 2024 ($23.1k → $26.2k).

EARNINGS TREND · TRENDING BETTER+46%

Earnings trend · post-entry horizons

Earnings 10 years post-entry at Sweet Briar College are 46% above 6-year earnings ($35.5k → $51.9k).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Virginia

Each tile compares this institution to the Virginia median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$51,943+46% · 6→10y
Virginia median $44,813
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$35,533
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
48.1%-22% · '97→'24
Virginia median 50.7%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$21,000+132% · '97→'20
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
463-20% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
76.6%-11% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
71.7%-7% · '01→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$25,110+52% · '00→'24
out-of-state $25,110
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS

How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry

Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS

What loans cost relative to earnings

Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.

Institution-wide

5.4%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $21,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $51,943 (10y after entry).

SECTION 04 · LONG ARC

Ten-plus year arc

Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.

UNDERGRAD · 19962024443
64723619962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 1997202451.8%
73%32%19972024
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020$27,000
$27,000$11,05519972020
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 19972024-22%

Sweet Briar College · completion · 150% fell

66.7% → 51.8%

COMPLETION · 100% · 19972024-33%

Sweet Briar College · completion · 100% fell

65.1% → 43.6%

RETENTION · 20042024-11%

Sweet Briar College · retention fell

78.0% → 69.3%

UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 19962024-20%

Sweet Briar College · undergrad enrollment fell

555 → 443

IN-STATE TUITION · 20002024+52%

Sweet Briar College · in-state tuition rose

$17,174 → $26,160

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20002024+52%

Sweet Briar College · out-of-state tuition rose

$17,174 → $26,160

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972020+132%

Sweet Briar College · median debt rose

$11,625 → $27,000

COHORT DEFAULT RATE · 20112024-100%

Sweet Briar College · cohort default rate fell

3.8% → 0.0%

PELL SHARE · 20082024+153%

Sweet Briar College · pell share rose

12.3% → 31.0%

SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS

Ranked by 5-year earnings

Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.

SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY

1 programs with earnings, grouped

Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.

BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Sweet Briar College

Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.

Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.

NET PRESENT VALUE
$382,391
Over 40 years, discounted 5.0%
BREAKEVEN
Year 12
First year cumulative discounted earnings cross zero
graduationbreakeven · year 12year 0year 39
Cost per year
$20,468
HS-only baseline · VA
$39,800
Years to complete
4
CIP family
52

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Sweet Briar College graduates earn $X” — not “Sweet Briar College makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Sweet Briar College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.

Methodology →