Getting To Know: University of Mississippi aka ‘Ole Miss’
My friend, Caitlin, Zygmont, an independent counselor based in Georgia, suggested that I take a virtual look at the University of Mississippi, aka ‘Ole Miss’. I am not an SEC football fan. My allegiances are with the Big Ten. But after taking a data dive into Ole Miss and doing more research I found a lot to like about the university. .Caitlin provided the photos that you see here. Now, I hope that you will read on!
As flagships in other southeastern and southwestern states become more selective, Ole Miss’ enrollment has grown. In 2020-21 Ole Miss had 16,000 undergrads. Today it has over 21,000. One YouTube mentioned Texas as the largest sending state for non-residents. Seventy percent of the entering class last year came from out of state. The majority of all undergrads do as well..
Ole Miss appears to be following the example of the University of Alabama: develop programs that are more likely to attract better students from other states but maintain the entertaining aspects of going to college in the Deep South. However, I must also add that Mississippi’s conservatism as a state as well as the university community’s history with race relations (highlighted by 1962 and 1970) and slavery may score off prospective students.
It’s not exceptionally hard to get into Ole Miss.
Virtually everyone who applies gets in. The average high school GPA for recent classes was just under a 3.6. However, 40 percent had a GPA of 3.75 or higher. The middle 50 percent range for the SAT was 1000 to 1200. The majority of freshmen submitted ACT scores. The middle 50 percent scored between 21 and 29. While admissions are test optional, test scores are considered Very Important.
Ole Miss scholarships and intellectual challenges that you can get at a much more selective school.
- Ole Miss is a participant in the Stamps Scholars program which is a full academic ride that’s more generous than even athletic scholarships. It also includes $12,000 in enrichment funds thatcan be used for study abroad programs, unpaid internships, and undergraduate research
- There are also no fewer than seven Competitive Academic Programs, two leadership development programs and three language flagship programs.
- Then there is the Provost Scholars program for those who want some rigor but do not want to be tied to honors courses and academic ic obligations in an honors college. . It takes only a 3.0 to remain a Provost Scholar while it takes a 3.4 freshman year and 3.5 afterwards to remain in the Honors College.
- Ole Miss’ Barksdale residential honors college has approximately 1,600 students. That’s larger than the honors college at Penn State which has more than twice as many undergrads.
It pays to pay more attention to the programs versus the acceptance rate.
There’s more opportunities than one will find at many schools that have twice as many undergrads and greater selectivity. Freshman retention has recently been at 87 percent, partly because of the availability of these programs. The most recent four-year graduation rate I could find was 57 percent. This is especially true if you want to make your career in the southeast or southwest after graduation. If you live in Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, New Orleans or the larger Florida or Texas cities, it’s quite likely that you will find alumni events and watch parties.
Another great reason to choose Ole Miss is the campus and community.
Ole Miss is one school that really takes care of its grounds and values historic preservation. So does Oxford, which, while somewhat isolated, is a beautiful example of a college town that also caters well to adults. I dropped a few of Caitlin’s campus photos below, so you can see how beautiful this campus is. I also watched several YouTubes of pre-game parties in The Grove, the sacred ten-acre grounds for festivities on football game days and a center for entertainment and relaxation on other days.
Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools get a bum rap in rankings.
Among the membership in the research-focused Association of American Universities, only five Southeastern Conference schools are represented. Two, the University of Florida and Vanderbilt are original members. Three others, UT-Austin , Texas A&M and the University of Missouri-Columbia came from other conferences. By comparison, 17 of 18 Big Ten schools are members as are eight of 18 schools in the Atlantic Coast Conference. I found this interesting because several schools in the SEC are becoming more popular with applicants from within and outside the South and Southwest..
Ole Miss’ costs are reasonable.
The university estimates the overall cost of attendance to be $31,200 for a Mississippi resident and $51,300 for a non-resident. Resident merit awards are not that large at first. However, they become more reasonable for applicants who have a 3.5 or better high school GPA. Non-resident merit awards are also test score dependent. Ole Miss is not likely to undercut Home State U in many states, unless you score very high on the SAT or ACT. But it could end up being the lest cost out-of-state option for many students.
I checked out Ole Miss’ Common Data Set for 2024-25. There I found that:
- Thirty-eight percent of the freshmen who entered in 2024 received need-based scholarships.
- These averaged approximately $12,600, about $2,600 more than in-state tuition.
- Thirty-four percent received merit-based scholarships.
- These averaged approximately $10,700.
- Fifty-six percent of the 2024 graduates had no student loan deb.
- However, those who borrowed owed, on averag, $34,600. To be fair, this would include students who earned both undergraduate degrees and a graduate or professional degree.
Those who are curious about Ole Miss but also concerned about costs should also ask about dues and living expenses for being in a fraternity or sorority. Nearly 40 percent of Ole Miss men are fresternity members. Over half of the women are in sororities. While nearly all freshmen will live in the residence halls, they accommodate only 30 percent of the student body. Rentals close to campus can get pricy.
Sports matter at Ole Miss.
Ole Miss is a “football school,” but as I heard and read “no one loses a party” at the home games.
Yet the Rebels have enjoyed five consecutive winning seasons under current coach, Lane Kiffin, who previously coached at SEC rival Tennessee. Under Kiffin the Rebels have played in five bowl games, winning three. As I write this, they are unbeaten and likely headed to another bowl, possibly contention for the expanded playoffs. Most important, the Rebels easily sell out their stadium, though it has the fourth-smallest capacity in the SEC, The Rebels’ home stadium is partly named for Johnny Vaught, who won an NCAA recognized national championship in 1960 and had an undefeated team ranked third in 1962.
Ole Miss can legitimately claim to be a “cradle of quarterbacks.”
Charlie Conerly, who led the New York Giants to the NFL Championship in 1956 played for Ole Miss, as did Archie Manning, father of Peyton and Eli Manning, who was the second player taken in the 1971 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints. Archie and his wife, Olivia, are royalty in New Orleans and Oxford. Olivia was the first female licensed pilot in Mississippi as well as queen of her Ole Miss homecoming court. Eli enjoyed a nice run as Ole Miss’ quarterback before becoming the very first pick of the 2004 NFL Draft traded from the Chargers to Giants, for whom he won two Super Bowls. Jake Gibbs, the quarterback who helped Vaught win the 1960 national championship was SEC Player of the Year and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting. However, he made his post-college successes in baseball. Gibbs was the New York Yankees’ starting catcher between Elston Howard and Thurman Munson. He later returned to Ole Miss to coach the baseball team and won two conference championships,
Ole Miss has had successes in other sports: baseball, softball, women’s basketball and gold. The Rebels baseball team was College World Series champions in 2022. The women’s golf program won a national title in 2021. The cheerleading program won national titles in 2021, 2023 and 2025,
Conclusions
Ole Miss offers a festive atmosphere as well as many of the intellectual challenges that can be found at more selective public universities. However, I felt that it was a school where you really need to appreciate football and the social scene to get the most out of the education. This can be a great place for a bright, outgoing student. But it might not be the best place for someone who is not.
The Report Card for Ole Miss
- Four-Year/Six-Year Graduation Rates: B/B
- Freshman Retention: B+
- Costs:B+
- Comforts: B+
- Community: A
- Curriculum: A
- Connections: A (Southeast and Southwest)/C (elsewhere)
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