Southwest Baptist University
Private College in Bolivar, MO. Six-year graduation rate 56%. Median 10-year earnings $43,112.
Ten years after entry, the median Southwest Baptist University student earns $43,112 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 56%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,957, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
Southwest Baptist University accepts 68% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. Only 1,275 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Yield sits at 34% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 3% 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 | 430–610 | 9 (3%) |
| SAT Math | 380–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 17–26 | 158 (53%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southwest Baptist University →Academics
Completion is middling: 56% finish inside six years. 65% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three are gone before sophomore year. Retention drops to 15% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. A 10:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. 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 1,332 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $21,336 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price varies modestly by income — $21,978 at $0–30k against $23,857 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 91% of students get grant aid averaging $16,795, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. 61% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 256 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 | $21,978 |
| $30–48k | $17,947 |
| $48–75k | $19,633 |
| $75–110k | $22,016 |
| $110k+ | $23,857 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 817 of these 1,332 students, totalling $6,016,123 — an average of $7,364 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Polk 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)