What a friend would tell you
What Centre is looking for
Centre is a relationship-driven school; admissions wants to see that you've engaged with them (visited, emailed, attended events). Be specific about why Centre: name professors, the CentreTerm January program, or study abroad options. Show that you want a small, close-knit academic community deliberately, not because you didn't get in somewhere bigger. Pre-law interest is a plus, as Centre feeds law schools at a high rate.
What students wish they'd known
Danville is a small Kentucky town with limited nightlife and dining. At 1,200 students with 50% Greek participation, social life is dominated by fraternities and sororities, and opting out narrows your options significantly. The school's national name recognition is low outside of Kentucky and the Southeast. Diversity is limited. The small size means limited course variety in niche subjects.
Centre might be a fit if...
- You want a tiny, mentorship-heavy liberal arts college where professors will write you the kind of recommendation letter that opens doors
- You're pre-law and want a school with an outsized law school acceptance rate
- You're comfortable in small-town Kentucky and want the intimacy of knowing every classmate by name
Centre Admissions Strategy
1.1x
Early Decision Advantage
Early Decision admits at 1.1x the RD rate. The trade: ED is binding. Apply only if you'd say yes on the spot.
Early Decision: the numbers
Centre's Early Decision acceptance rate is 65.8% vs 60% overall. ED is binding. If you are admitted, you are committing to enroll. This signals strong commitment and gives a meaningful admissions advantage.
Deadlines: ED November 1 · EA November 15 · RD February 1
Deadlines: ED November 1 · EA November 15 · RD February 1
Test Policy
Test-optional
You choose whether to send scores. A strong score helps your case; a weak one is better left off.
Demonstrated Interest
Considered
Considered, not formally logged. A specific 'Why us' is the lever that matters.
Interview
Recommended
Yield Rate
38%
Only 38% of admits choose to enroll. The waitlist moves more than you'd think; if you land on it, make your interest loud.
Want the strongest possible application to Centre, plus better odds and merit offers everywhere else you apply?
Join the free one-hour workshop from two Harvard grads who have helped 3,000+ students get in. Parents welcome.
Cost & Financial Aid at Centre
$61,800
Sticker Price
$16,500
Avg Merit Aid
Need-aware admissions. Meets 100% of demonstrated need. 88% receive financial aid.
What you get for it: Centre spends about $23,000 per student per year on instruction and student resources, well above the $15K national average.
What Centre Graduates Get
$54,500
Avg Starting Salary
94%
Employed or in Grad School
74%
Graduate in 4 Years
The 4-year number is the on-time rate; the 6-year rate (81%) is the one schools usually advertise. A wide gap means many students pay for extra semesters.
Centre Campus & Culture
The Campus
Centre's 152-acre campus sits in Danville, Kentucky (pop. 17,000), a preserved 19th-century town in the Bluegrass region. Old Centre, built in 1820 from local limestone, is one of the oldest college buildings west of the Alleghenies. The campus is compact and walkable, mixing Federal-style and modern academic buildings around a central quad. The Norton Center for the Arts, a 1,500-seat performance hall, is unusually grand for a school of 1,200.
The Social Scene
Small college town where everybody knows everybody, Greek life central
Centre Traditions & Trivia
The Talent
At the start of senior year, the college president gives every graduating student a coin stamped with Old Centre on one side and the college seal on the other; seniors spend the year deciding who to give it to at the Honor Walk ceremony the day before commencement.
Honor Walk
Seniors in caps and gowns walk the Old Centre lawn at dusk, hand their coin to the person they have chosen to honor, and pass through the historic building one final time before graduation.
Academics at Centre
What Centre is known for
Outstanding liberal arts, Kentucky gem, Presbyterian values, faculty mentorship
Most popular majors at Centre
Standout programs
Economics, Chemistry, Biology, Politics & Government
How the curriculum works
General Education (32 credits), major (36-54), senior project
Recommended high school courses
4 years English, 4 Math, 3-4 Science, 3 Social Studies, 2-3 Foreign Language
Notable Centre Alumni
John C. Breckinridge
Youngest-ever U.S. Vice President at age 36, Centre class of 1839
Adlai Stevenson I
23rd Vice President, Centre alumnus
Edwin P. Morrow
Governor of Kentucky, Centre graduate
John Marshall Harlan
Supreme Court Justice known for his dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson (attended Centre)
Steven L. Beshear
Two-term Kentucky Governor, Centre class of 1966
If you like Centre, also consider
Sewanee
The University of the South: similar Southern LAC on a Tennessee mountaintop with Episcopal identity
Rhodes College
Memphis-based LAC with comparable size and pre-professional strength
Davidson College
higher-ranked Southern LAC with stronger national reputation
Hendrix College
Arkansas LAC with engaged learning and similar intimacy
Washington and Lee University
Virginia LAC with stronger law school brand