College · Private nonprofit · Nevada, MO · Town
Cottey College
Nevada, MO
Women-only
Admit rate69%
6-yr median pay$33k
Net price / yr$14k
Undergrad size254
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $14k/yr for a shot at a $33k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 69% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 22.
If you get in
254 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $39k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $14k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$157k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$55k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$102k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $27.6k
- Room & board
- $11.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,225
How students pay for it.
Pell grants46%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans61%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$19k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention64%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr56%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$33k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$35k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 254
- Location
- Nevada, MO
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate/Associate's Colleges: Mixed
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White70%
- Hispanic13%
- Black7%
- International5%
- American Indian / Alaska Native3%
- Asian2%
- Two or more races1%
First-gen students31%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$42k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 15
What you can study.