College of
Saint Benedict
Private College in Saint Joseph, MN. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $63,260.
A decade after enrolling, the median College of Saint Benedict student earns $63,260 — comfortably above what the typical bachelor's-granting institution returns. 77% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates carry a median of $26,944 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.
- ✓ Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
College of Saint Benedict admits 92% of applicants — effectively open admission, so the application is a formality rather than a hurdle. 1,840 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. 22% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. The score bands below rest on the 4% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | 565–643 | 16 (4%) |
| SAT Math | 483–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–27 | 155 (43%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at College of Saint Benedict →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 77% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 86% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. At 11:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor. At 1,410 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,391 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $28,400 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,981 while those at $110k+ pay $33,660. 100% of students get grant aid averaging $37,805, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Borrowing is widespread: 63% take federal loans.
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 · 379 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 | $12,981 |
| $30–48k | $14,791 |
| $48–75k | $20,378 |
| $75–110k | $24,039 |
| $110k+ | $33,660 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 877 of these 1,391 students, totalling $5,638,942 — an average of $6,430 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Stearns 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)