Central Methodist
University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Private College in Fayette, MO. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $48,991.
Ten years after entry, the median Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences student earns $48,991 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 51%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation is $17,619, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
At 57%, the acceptance rate makes Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. The applicant pool runs to 1,542, typical for a school of this reach. 35% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 2% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT 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 | 440–490 | 5 (2%) |
| SAT Math | 520–555 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–23 | 125 (41%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences →Academics
Completion is middling: 51% finish inside six years. 62% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about two in five are gone before sophomore year. With 34% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,015 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $22,929 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $20,260 at $0–30k against $27,411 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 100% of students get grant aid averaging $21,198, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 61% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 228 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 | $20,260 |
| $30–48k | $18,894 |
| $48–75k | $20,680 |
| $75–110k | $23,883 |
| $110k+ | $27,411 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 622 of these 1,015 students, totalling $4,025,905 — an average of $6,473 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
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)