College Compass GuideTrue north for every college search.
University of the Ozarks: Campus entrance, UofO
Photo: Brandonrush, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Regional college

#4 Best small colleges in Arkansas

University of the Ozarks

Clarksville, AR · Private nonprofit · 4-year

Your real cost

Average price after aid About $17,000 a year

Median debt at graduation: $20,875 (all students)

Estimate your own price · the college’s net price calculator

Rankings

Where this college places on our top lists. Lists are worked out from official data and our own research; places in the top quarter of each list are shown. See every list

In Arkansas

Academic Excellence

BAcademic Excellence: Good (grade B): 70 to 100 points out of 100, from federal data.
Good · Top 49%
From federal data, on fixed published scales.

Each measure counts for the share shown.

  • Graduation rate 35% of scoreThis measure counts for 35% of the Academic Excellence score.51%
  • First-year retention 20% of scoreThis measure counts for 20% of the Academic Excellence score.69%
  • Entering students' test scores 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.SAT 1,105 · ACT 22.5
  • Student-to-faculty ratio 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.14 to 1
  • Instructional spending per student 15% of scoreThis measure counts for 15% of the Academic Excellence score.$15,061

Bars show points on each measure’s scale. How Academic Excellence is computed.

Source: College Scorecard (College Scorecard, most recent cohorts (data release 06/10/2026))

What families pay, by income

Average paid by families who received aid, by income. Families who get no aid pay the full cost of attendance: $38,666 a year.

Average net price by family income
Family incomePrice after aid
Up to $30,000About $15,000
$30,001–$48,000About $15,000
$48,001–$75,000About $19,000
$75,001–$110,000About $19,000
Over $110,000About $23,000

Use the college’s net price calculator for your own estimate.

Cost and value

Federal data: what families pay after aid, what graduates earn, and what they owe.

Value and outcomes
Undergraduate students
Fall enrollment (IPEDS)
763
Men and women
College Scorecard, fall 2023
Men 44% · Women 56%
First-generation students
College Scorecard
35%
First-year students from another state
IPEDS, fall 2023
39%
Total students763
Average net price (per year)
After grants and scholarships, for students receiving federal aid
About $17,000
Cost of attendance (per year)$38,666
Median federal debt at graduation$20,875
Graduation rate
First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time
51%
Graduation rate for Pell grant recipients
College Scorecard, within 6 years
46%
Graduation rate for first-generation students
College Scorecard, within 6 years
37%
Borrowers paying down their loans within 3 years
College Scorecard, within 3 years
59%
First-year retention69%
Median earnings 10 years after entry$44,384
Admission rate60%
Application fee
IPEDS, 2023–24
No application fee
Typical rent
HUD fair market rent, FY2026
About $674 a month for a one-bedroom
Students receiving Pell grants40%
Admitted students’ middle range:SAT 1020–1160ACT 20–25
Admission test scores (middle 50% of admitted students who submitted scores)
Average SAT1105
SAT reading & writing530–590
SAT math490–570
ACT composite20–25
Test policyConsidered but not required

Value: Good (how it’s computed)

Sources: College Scorecard · IPEDS College Navigator · Net price calculator
College Scorecard, most recent cohorts (data release 06/10/2026); IPEDS 2024-25 directory and institutional characteristics; fall 2023 enrollment.

Earnings by major

Median earnings of bachelor’s graduates a few years after finishing, by major (College Scorecard).

Median earnings by major
MajorMedian earnings
Business administration$50,789
Public health$49,174
Biology$46,151

Also offered (no earnings published yet): Accounting, Broadcasting, Chemistry, Communication studies, Economics, English, Finance, Fine arts, History, International business, Liberal arts, Marketing, Mathematics, Music, Natural resources and conservation, Other philosophy and religious studies, Philosophy, Political science, Psychology, Public relations, Religious studies, Romance languages, Secondary education, Sociology, Teacher education, Theatre.

What students study most

Share of bachelor’s degrees by field, first majors in 2023–24 (IPEDS).

Most common bachelor’s fields
FieldShare of degrees
Business29%
Health professions16%
Biology13%
Psychology10%
Education9%

Campus life

School colors
SettingTown
Part-time undergraduates1%
Undergraduates aged 25 and older2%
On-campus room and board (per year)$9,603
SportsNCAA Division III · Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Study abroadOffered
Students per faculty member14 to 1
Undergraduates registered with the disability officeAbout 10%IPEDS, 2023–24
Disability servicesVisit the office’s pageThe college’s own page
Faculty who are full-time96%College Scorecard, fall 2023
Endowment per student$178,661IPEDS, 2023, per student
Dorm spaceFor about 81% of studentsBeds per undergraduate; not who lives on campus
Nearest airport with airline serviceFort Smith Regional Airport (FSM)About 52 miles away · about 1 hour 10 minutes by car
Town population9,526Census, 2020–2024
Nearest city of 250,000 people or moreTulsaAbout 144 miles away · about 2 hours 55 minutes by car
Typical weather39°F in January · 81°F in JulyNOAA, 1991–2020, from Clarksville 2 N, AR

Federal data (IPEDS and College Scorecard), except school colors.

Questions families ask

What is University of the Ozarks’s Compass Score?
Good (grade B). The grade comes from outcomes (40%: graduation, retention and earnings), entering students (40%: test scores and selectivity), cost (15%: debt and price after aid) and teaching (5%: class size), all from federal data.
How much does University of the Ozarks cost after financial aid?
The average net price is about $17,000 a year for students who receive federal aid, after grants and scholarships. What your family pays depends on income; the college’s net price calculator gives your own estimate.
How hard is it to get into University of the Ozarks?
University of the Ozarks admitted 60% of applicants in the most recent federal data.
How do University of the Ozarks’s graduates do?
51% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years; the median earnings of former students ten years after entry are $44,384; the median federal debt at graduation is $20,875.

Ask the school

Something you want to know that isn’t on this page? Ask it here. We send it to the school, and their answer appears on this page. Your name is never shared.

Sign in to ask a question

Reviews

Personal experiences from signed-in readers. Reviews are moderated automatically and never change a school’s grades.

No reviews yet.

Sign in to write a review.

My rating and notes

Sign in or create a free account to rate this school privately, keep notes, and save it to your list.

About this school’s data

Colleges like this one

The same kind of school first, then the closest in selectivity, size and cost.

More in Arkansas · Arkansas rankings

0 school selectedCompare

What would it cost your family?

Pick your family’s yearly income. Each college then shows what families like yours paid on average after grants and scholarships (federal data).

Reach, Target or Likely?

Enter an SAT or ACT to sort every college in this search.

Will you get in?

Enter your SAT or ACT. We compare it with the middle range of students the college admitted.