Acceptance Rate
29%
Avg. SAT
1470
75th percentile
“Bucknell delivers intimate liberal arts depth fused with powerhouse engineering on a postcard-perfect campus where you'll cheer for the Bison amid Pennsylvania's rolling hills.”
Lewisburg, PA
Location
Town
Campus Setting
You arrive at Bucknell in Lewisburg, a sleepy Victorian town of 5,000 hugged by the Susquehanna River, founded in 1846 as a Baptist seminary to educate frontier ministers but reborn in 1881 when mill owner William Bucknell pumped in $600,000—equivalent to $18 million today—to rescue it from bankruptcy and etch his name on it forever. This legacy shapes a school that's unpretentiously ambitious, drawing students who crave collaboration over cutthroat competition, thrive in small ponds, and love diving into club sports or weekend hikes rather than urban chaos. Picture preppy-athletes with a nerdy streak: the kid who debates philosophy in the quad by day and tailgates Bison football by night. The tradeoff? Isolation—three hours from Philly or NYC means you'll bond tightly with classmates, but if you need constant city buzz, the quaint Amish markets and single-screen cinema might wear thin after freshman year.
Photo Gallery
+30
+22
Admissions
Acceptance Rate
Test Policy
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Average GPA
Application Fee
Academics
Student-Faculty Ratio
Programs Offered
Full-Time Faculty
Women Faculty
Research Spending
Degree Levels Offered
In Bucknell's classrooms, professors call you by name from day one thanks to that golden 9:1 ratio, fostering seminars where you dissect Victorian lit or prototype solar drones alongside peers, not hundreds. Engineering punches above its weight, landing in the top 50 nationally with hands-on labs where you'll build Mars rovers or design sustainable bridges; meanwhile, the Freeman College of Management sharpens future CEOs through real-world consulting projects, and the arts and sciences buzz with interdisciplinary gems like environmental geophysics. Research starts early—undergrads snag spots in labs studying river ecology or AI ethics—and the intellectual vibe rewards curiosity over grades-grubbing. The catch: with only 3,800 undergrads, niche majors like film studies exist but lack the depth of bigger schools, so hyper-specialized seekers might feel constrained.
Student Body
Total Enrollment
3,920 undergrad • 49 grad
Undergraduate
Graduate
International
White
74%
Black / African American
4%
Hispanic / Latino
8%
Asian
5%
Other / Multi-racial
9%
Campus Life
Campus Setting
Lewisburg, PA
Varsity Athletics
NCAA Athletics
Bucknell's vibe pulses with Bison pride: you'll navigate a residential campus where 80% of students live on-site, choosing from 22 themed houses like the Sustainability or Black Student Union floors that turn dorms into lifelong networks. Greeks claim half the undergrads, fueling mixers and formals like the Chrysalis Ball, but unaffiliated folks dive into 150 clubs—from ultimate frisbee to improv comedy—making weekends a whirlwind of tailgates, river floats, and bonfires. A typical week mixes morning lectures, afternoon pickup soccer, and Thursday bar hops in town, with NYC buses for bigger adventures. Winters bite hard with Susquehanna winds, and the small-town scene suits low-key partiers but frustrates those craving diversity or nightlife—social circles form fast around sports and majors, sometimes leaving introverts or non-athletes hunting for their crew.
Housing
On-Campus Housing
Housing Capacity
Meal Plan Available
Average Room & Board
Athletics
Athletic Association
Patriot League
ROTC & Veteran Support
Army
Yes
Navy
No
Air Force
No
Veteran’s Programs Available
Yellow Ribbon Program (Post-9/11 GI Bill)
Yes
Cost & Aid
In-State Tuition
Out-of-State Tuition
Room & Board
Estimated Cost
Financial Aid
Students Receiving Aid
Receiving Pell Grants
Average Grant
Average Federal Loan
Net Annual Cost by Household Income
Household Income
Avg. Net Cost
$0 – $30K
$21,532
$30K – $48K
$17,072
$48K – $75K
$24,359
$75K – $110K
$29,865
$110K+
$50,578
Apply for Financial Aid
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Outcomes & Earnings
Retention Rate
94%
4 Years Graduation Rate
83%
6 Years Graduation Rate
88%
Median 10-Year Earnings
$93,807
94% of first-time, full-time students complete their freshman year at Bucknell University and return in the fall. 83% of first-time, full-time students graduate in 4 years, and 88% graduate within 6 years.
Graduation Rate
4-year grads
83%
4-5 years
5%
6-8 years
1%
Non-grad
11%
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Key Statistics
Type
Private
Tuition
$61,408
Acceptance
29%
Undergrads
3,920
4-Year Grad Rate
83%
Endowment
$794M
Lewisburg, PA 17837