College · Private nonprofit · Fayette, MO · Rural
Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Fayette, MO
Religious affiliation
Admit rate57%
6-yr median pay$44k
Net price / yr$23k
Undergrad size1,040
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $23k/yr for a shot at a $44k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 57% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1048 · ACT 21.
If you get in
1,040 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $44k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $23k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$175k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$91k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$83k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.1x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $28.3k
- Room & board
- $9.4k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants40%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans61%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$18k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention63%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$44k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$49k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out34%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,040
- Location
- Fayette, MO
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- CMU - CLAS
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White61%
- Black15%
- International9%
- Hispanic8%
- Two or more races5%
- Unknown1%
- Asian1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students44%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Veterans1%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$38k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 41
What you can study.