College · Private nonprofit · Mitchell, SD · Town
Dakota Wesleyan University
Mitchell, SD
Religious affiliation
Admit rate73%
6-yr median pay$49k
Net price / yr$20k
Undergrad size670
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $20k/yr for a shot at a $49k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 73% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 22.
If you get in
670 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 $44k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $20k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$175k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$79k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$97k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $33.8k
- Room & board
- $8.1k
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants27%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans73%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
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 retention72%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr48%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$49k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$54k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out22%
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
- 670
- Location
- Mitchell, SD
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White80%
- Hispanic7%
- Two or more races5%
- International3%
- Black2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students29%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time4%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$69k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 43
What you can study.