Southwest Minnesota
State University
Public College in Marshall, MN. Six-year graduation rate 45%. Median 10-year earnings $51,342.
Students who entered Southwest Minnesota State University land at a median of $51,342 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. 45% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $20,500 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
Southwest Minnesota State University accepts 62% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 2,811 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. About 22% of admitted students enroll, a yield in the normal range. 40% 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 16–23 | 157 (40%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Southwest Minnesota State University →Academics
45% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 74% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. With 37% transferring out, this functions substantially as a stepping stone. Retention drops to 24% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,045 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $15,547 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $10,559 at $0–30k versus $20,701 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 78% of students at an average of $7,523. 52% 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 · 350 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 | $10,559 |
| $30–48k | $11,175 |
| $48–75k | $13,153 |
| $75–110k | $18,283 |
| $110k+ | $20,701 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 1,061 of these 2,045 students, totalling $7,291,885 — an average of $6,873 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Lyon 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)