William Jewell College
Private College in Liberty, MO. Six-year graduation rate 68%. Median 10-year earnings $59,268.
Ten years after entry, the median William Jewell College student earns $59,268 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is a strength: 68% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $24,498, 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 0.6 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
William Jewell College admits 38% of applicants and is genuinely selective — roughly three in five applicants are turned away. 1,929 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield sits at 33% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 5% 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 | 540–630 | 13 (5%) |
| SAT Math | 540–640 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–24 | 131 (54%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at William Jewell College →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 68% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention is 74% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The 10:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. At 868 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 868 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $19,294 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $12,909 while those at $110k+ pay $23,901. 99% of students get grant aid averaging $15,673, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 48% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 229 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 | $12,909 |
| $30–48k | $4,356 |
| $48–75k | $12,869 |
| $75–110k | $16,624 |
| $110k+ | $23,901 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 417 of these 868 students, totalling $2,641,171 — an average of $6,334 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Clay 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)