The University
of Montana
Public Research University in Missoula, MT. Six-year graduation rate 51%. Median 10-year earnings $44,511.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,511 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. 51% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $22,400, 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
With an acceptance rate of 96%, The University of Montana takes nearly everyone who applies. 9,576 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield is low at 19%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 1% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 23–28 | 9 (1%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at The University of Montana →Academics
51% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 75% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 43% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,079 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $17,370 annually once grants are applied. Income makes less difference than usual: $13,960 at $0–30k, $20,930 at $110k+. 70% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,022 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 44% of students.
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 · 1,561 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 | $13,960 |
| $30–48k | $14,892 |
| $48–75k | $17,180 |
| $75–110k | $19,269 |
| $110k+ | $20,930 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,109 of these 7,079 students, totalling $23,310,759 — an average of $7,498 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Missoula 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)