Southeast Missouri
State University
Public College in Cape Girardeau, MO. Six-year graduation rate 58%. Median 10-year earnings $44,030.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,030 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 58% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Median debt at graduation is $21,500, 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
- ! Mobility score 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Southeast Missouri State University accepts 74% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 10,461 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Only 18% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 5% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT 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 | — | 4 (1%) |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 15–20 | 70 (5%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southeast Missouri State University →Academics
Completion is middling: 58% finish inside six years. Retention of 76% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The part-time picture is harder: 35% return, against 76% full-time. At 20:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,588 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $16,185 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,704 at the $0–30k band to $21,267 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 81% of students at an average of $8,124. 40% 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 · 1,235 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 | $12,704 |
| $30–48k | $13,342 |
| $48–75k | $15,338 |
| $75–110k | $17,395 |
| $110k+ | $21,267 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,667 of these 6,588 students, totalling $17,011,006 — an average of $6,378 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cape Girardeau 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)