College ROI

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Missouri Western State University

Saint Joseph, MO 2,219 Undergrads 41.7% Grad Rate
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Total Cost
$21,595
Sticker Price
Avg Net Price
$13,251
After Aid
Median Earnings
$53,293
4yr Post-Grad

Vs. Peer Institutions

Net Price$13,251
Peer Midpoint: $20,081
Earnings (4yr Post-Grad)Completers only after graduation
$53,293
Peer Midpoint: $60,428
Earnings (10yr Post-Enroll)All enrolled after enrollment
$42,647
Peer Midpoint: $53,763
Graduation Rate41.7%
Peer Midpoint: 58.9%
Warning: The majority of students at this institution do not graduate. Non-completers typically earn significantly less and face higher debt risks.
Average Starting Age22.1
Socio-Economic Diversity
Pell Grant Recipients42.2%
Enrollment Status
Full-Time89.0%
Economic Outcomes
Earn More than HS65.6%

Admissions Profile

Acceptance
100.0%
SAT Avg
-
SAT Reading
25th: --75th: -
SAT Math
25th: --75th: -
ACT Composite
25th: --75th: -

ROI Sensitivity Analysis
Assuming 4 Years to Graduation

This analysis tests three cost scenarios (Scholarship, Average Net Price, Full Sticker Price) to show how college costs impact your long-term return compared to the average student and a high school graduate.

Lifetime Value Added (NPV)
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Institution Lifetime NPV
Vs Median Peer
Vs HS Grad
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
+$481k
+$14k
-$3k
Median Cost$13k/yr
+$433k
-$34k
-$51k
Full Cost$22k/yr
+$403k
-$64k
-$81k

ROI Efficiency Metrics
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Break-Even Age
Return on Inv. %
Zero Cost (Scholarship)$0
Never
-∞
Median Cost$13k/yr
Never
-107%
Full Cost$22k/yr
Never
-104%
Analysis Assumptions:
  • Starting Salary: Estimated from the 4-year post-graduation median earnings (assuming 2% annual growth from graduation).⚠️ Warning: The high average starting age or low completion rate may inflate the Median earnings and ROI shown.
  • Comparisons: "Vs Median Peer" compares to the median student nationwide in a similar level program. "Vs HS Grad" compares to a median high school graduate.
  • Break-Even: The age at which the college investment net income exceeds the median high school graduate's lifetime earnings.
  • NPV: Net Present Value of all future earnings minus costs and taxes, discounted at 7.8%.

Social Impact ROINew
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Measures the societal return on a donor's investment. Calculated as the incremental pre-tax lifetime earnings vs. HS grad, divided by the tax-adjusted donation cost.

Donor Return-84%

Gov. Pell Grant ROINew
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Measures the government's return on Pell Grants via increased tax revenue. Calculated as the portion of incremental lifetime taxes (discounted at 5.4%) attributed to the Pell Grant investment.

Taxpayer Return-68%
Important Note: Your ROI with any major will depend on the cost you pay to attend the program, and your starting salary. Both vary significantly across institutions. We encourage you to explore the ROI of a specific program variant by selecting the Program title of the credential level you are interested in. You will then have a more detailed return analysis for programs at specific institutions. We also encourage you to use the ROI calculator, or for more sophisticated analysis, the Guided ROI Interview, with your specific estimates of cost and salary.

Program ROI Analysis
⚠️ Caution: Underlying earnings data reflects graduates only. This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate this ROI.

Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $35,447
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,747
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Associate's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$48,876
Natl Median: $42,269
Lifetime Value Added
+$13k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $46,706
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $73,593
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $44,669
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Bachelor's Degrees

Median Debt
$20,500
Earnings (4yr)
$60,025
Natl Median: $76,194
Lifetime Value Added
+$4k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,466
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Biology, General
BachCIP: 2601
Median Debt
$24,935
Earnings (4yr)
$53,505
Natl Median: $57,214
Lifetime Value Added
-$49k
Biotechnology
BachCIP: 2612
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $67,097
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,810
Earnings (4yr)
$62,581
Natl Median: $68,257
Lifetime Value Added
+$24k
Chemistry
BachCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $65,120
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $75,975
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$55,059
Natl Median: $56,359
Lifetime Value Added
-$36k
Median Debt
$18,350
Earnings (4yr)
$68,405
Natl Median: $92,374
Lifetime Value Added
+$70k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $83,742
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Construction Engineering Technology/Technician
BachCIP: 1510
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$65,896
Natl Median: $93,843
Lifetime Value Added
+$50k
Median Debt
$19,947
Earnings (4yr)
$52,709
Natl Median: $55,378
Lifetime Value Added
-$56k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$41,728
Natl Median: $51,490
Lifetime Value Added
-$149k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $39,775
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Economics
BachCIP: 4506
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,686
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians
BachCIP: 1503
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $84,599
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$20,140
Natl Median: $48,590
Lifetime Value Added
-$330k
Median Debt
$19,381
Earnings (4yr)
$67,011
Natl Median: $83,343
Lifetime Value Added
+$59k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $41,367
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $43,283
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$48,596
Natl Median: $58,716
Lifetime Value Added
-$90k
History
BachCIP: 5401
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$40,716
Natl Median: $50,680
Lifetime Value Added
-$157k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$59,124
Natl Median: $80,890
Lifetime Value Added
+$16k
International/Globalization Studies
BachCIP: 3020
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $59,972
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $49,984
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Marketing
BachCIP: 5214
Median Debt
$18,143
Earnings (4yr)
$57,015
Natl Median: $69,303
Lifetime Value Added
-$21k
Mathematics
BachCIP: 2701
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $69,562
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,102
Earnings (4yr)
$51,174
Natl Median: $55,693
Lifetime Value Added
-$69k
Music
BachCIP: 5009
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $42,892
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$47,177
Natl Median: $50,468
Lifetime Value Added
-$102k
Philosophy
BachCIP: 3801
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $54,455
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,293
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Psychology, General
BachCIP: 4201
Median Debt
$25,753
Earnings (4yr)
$46,402
Natl Median: $50,706
Lifetime Value Added
-$109k
Public Health
BachCIP: 5122
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $58,808
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $63,560
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$22,500
Earnings (4yr)
$74,875
Natl Median: $88,910
Lifetime Value Added
+$119k
Social Work
BachCIP: 4407
Median Debt
$27,000
Earnings (4yr)
$46,187
Natl Median: $51,790
Lifetime Value Added
-$111k
Sociology
BachCIP: 4511
Median Debt
-
Earnings (2yr)
$21,508
Natl Median: $52,657
Lifetime Value Added
-$318k
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness
BachCIP: 3105
Median Debt
$17,875
Earnings (4yr)
$45,251
Natl Median: $54,562
Lifetime Value Added
-$119k
Median Debt
$19,493
Earnings (4yr)
$39,163
Natl Median: $47,382
Lifetime Value Added
-$171k
Median Debt
$20,371
Earnings (2yr)
$30,409
Natl Median: $51,389
Lifetime Value Added
-$236k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$46,342
Natl Median: $45,338
Lifetime Value Added
-$109k

Master's Degrees

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,371
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
$21,606
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $103,485
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Chemistry
MastCIP: 4005
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,937
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $124,201
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $121,855
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $66,232
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $125,651
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $115,403
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
$66,096
Natl Median: $75,122
Lifetime Value Added
-$82k
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $75,972
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $120,193
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $55,035
Lifetime Value Added
N/A
Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $82,399
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Graduate Certificates

Median Debt
-
Earnings (4yr)
-
Natl Median: $64,611
Lifetime Value Added
N/A

Note: Lifetime Value Added is the Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median high school graduate (for undergraduate programs) or a median bachelor's degree holder (for graduate programs), accounting for this institution's average cost and taxes. Computed over a career to retirement age.

For graduate programs (Master's, Doctoral, etc.), the calculation assumes a starting age of 22 (after undergraduate completion) and does not include the sunk costs of prior degrees. It represents the value added of the graduate decision moving forward. Note that the institution's average undergraduate net price is used as a proxy for annual cost, which may differ from actual graduate tuition. These Lifetime Value Added results for graduate degrees should not be compared with those for Undergraduate Certificates, Associates or Bachelors.

Completers Only: Federal median earnings data strictly reflects outcomes for students who successfully graduated. Students who do not complete their degree typically earn significantly less and face higher risks of debt default.