College · Public · Joplin, MO · City
Missouri Southern State University
Joplin, MO
Admit rate97%
6-yr median pay$38k
Net price / yr$12k
Undergrad size3,019
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $12k/yr for a shot at a $38k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 97% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1065 · ACT 21.
If you get in
3,019 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $20k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $12k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$78k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$48k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$30k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.3x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $9.0k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $17.1k
- Room & board
- $9.1k
- Books & supplies
- $1,221
How students pay for it.
Pell grants34%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans33%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$19k
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 retention66%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr42%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$38k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out26%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 3,019
- Location
- Joplin, MO
- Region
- Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- Missouri Southern
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White65%
- Hispanic10%
- Black7%
- American Indian / Alaska Native5%
- International5%
- Asian3%
- Unknown3%
- Two or more races1%
First-gen students45%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time18%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Veterans1%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$34k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 37
What you can study.