Morningside University
Private College in Sioux City, IA. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $55,494.
Ten years after entry, the median Morningside University student earns $55,494 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 50%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $26,028 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
Morningside University accepts 71% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 2,742 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 16%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 | — | 3 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Morningside University →Academics
Completion is middling: 50% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 74% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. At 12:1, 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.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,169 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $24,437 annually once grants are applied. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $33,738 at the $0–30k band to $41,981 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 96% of students receive it, averaging $27,847. Borrowing is widespread: 66% 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 · 337 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 | $33,738 |
| $30–48k | $21,201 |
| $48–75k | $19,124 |
| $75–110k | $20,575 |
| $110k+ | $41,981 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 776 of these 1,169 students, totalling $5,189,483 — an average of $6,687 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Woodbury 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)