Central Methodist
University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies
Private College in Fayette, MO. Median 10-year earnings $48,991.
Students who entered Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies land at a median of $48,991 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Only 0% finish within six years, so roughly nine in ten students leave without the credential they enrolled for. Graduates carry a median of $17,619 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 88%, Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies takes nearly everyone who applies. The applicant pool is small at 409, which makes year-over-year comparisons unreliable. 81% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 2% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 19–25 | 5 (2%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Central Methodist University-College of Graduate and Extended Studies →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 0% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 53% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. The 50% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. The part-time picture is harder: 37% return, against 53% full-time.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,807 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,601 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The gap between the $0–30k and $30–48k bands is narrow ($14,601 versus $14,057), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 73% get grants averaging $5,381, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 35% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 51 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $14,601 |
| $30–48k | $14,057 |
| $48–75k | — |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 635 of these 1,807 students, totalling $4,399,806 — an average of $6,929 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Howard County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026