McMurry University
Private College in Abilene, TX. Six-year graduation rate 44%. Median 10-year earnings $48,779.
Ten years after entry, the median McMurry University student earns $48,779 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 44% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings. It also moves people — 2.8% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
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
McMurry University admits 57% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly two in five applicants are turned away. 4,837 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 12% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 12% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
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 | 490–590 | 41 (12%) |
| SAT Math | 460–570 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–24 | 22 (7%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at McMurry University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 44%, meaning about three in five students who enroll leave without finishing. Retention of 64% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. With 36% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,108 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $20,723 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $15,946 at $0–30k versus $27,297 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 94% of students receive it, averaging $21,156. Borrowing is widespread: 68% 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 · 318 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 | $15,946 |
| $30–48k | $16,181 |
| $48–75k | $18,272 |
| $75–110k | $23,285 |
| $110k+ | $27,297 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 749 of these 1,108 students, totalling $4,979,666 — an average of $6,648 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Taylor 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)