College · Private nonprofit · Des Moines, IA · City
Mercy College of Health Sciences
Des Moines, IA
Religious affiliation
Admit rate100%
6-yr median pay$53k
Net price / yr$27k
Undergrad size867
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $27k/yr for a shot at a $53k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 100% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 980 · ACT 20.
If you get in
867 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $34k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $27k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$138k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$108k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$30k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $17.7k
- Books & supplies
- $2,328
How students pay for it.
Pell grants34%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans63%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$15k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $7k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention59%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr66%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$53k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$62k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out14%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 867
- Location
- Des Moines, IA
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: High Transfer · Mixed
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White64%
- Hispanic14%
- Black12%
- Asian6%
- American Indian / Alaska Native2%
- Unknown1%
- Two or more races1%
First-gen students35%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time61%
Many students enroll part-time — often working.
Median family income$42k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 4
What you can study.