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College profile

Bemidji State University

MN · Public · Remote town · 2,860 applicants 2023

71% admit rate $15K–$23K/yr in-state — aid decides

A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 6× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$22,744/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$53,755/yr) still runs about 6× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Worth asking: do students finish? Only 48% graduate within six years here — the standard federal measure. Ask what drives that: course availability, transfers out, students working long hours. Not finishing is the costliest outcome there is.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

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Odds at Bemidji State University

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Live odds from each college's own published admissions data.

Parent/student verdict

Accessible

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable — net price averages ~$15,261/yr among aid recipients. Major value play for in-state residents.

Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$10,237 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Education (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

The reality

  • You'd be near the bottom of their admitted class if: ACT below 18 (test bands are the school's own; the GPA floor is our estimate, not a published figure)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price with aid and at full price, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

What are your child's odds here?

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Weighted is the higher GPA, with honors/AP credit in it — pick whichever your school reports. PSAT scores work in the SAT box.

Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
M3: Master's - Smaller Programs
Undergraduates
3,139
1,000 - 4,999 including graduate students
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid at a given college pay this, minus any merit scholarships — whether you qualify depends on the college's price and policies, not on any fixed income line.
$10,237
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split) · 2023–24 federal figure
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
70.7%
Accessible
ACT middle 50%The middle half of the enrolled first-years who sent this test scored in this range — a quarter of them scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. At a test-optional college the students who submitted are often a minority of the class, so the range describes them rather than everyone who enrolled. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
18–23
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$53,755
median, after entry

55% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score — this range describes students who submitted, not the whole class.

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$47,469
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$53,755
Graduate within 6 yrsThe share of students who start here and finish a bachelor's within six years — the standard federal measure, and the one College Scorecard publishes. It is not a four-year rate. Read it as the odds of finishing at all: nationally about a third of students who start never do, and an unfinished degree is the most expensive outcome in this decision.
48%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$19,750

The real cost

What Bemidji State University actually costs

If you qualify for need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats.
$15,261/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$22,744/yr
the full published price for in-state students — out-of-state runs higher

Which side your family lands on isn't set by any national income line — it's set by Bemidji State University's own aid decision: the gap between its price and your family's finances.

Get your family's number — Bemidji State University's Net Price Calculator ↗ 10–15 minutes; have a tax return handy. It's still an estimate — but it's this college's own, built from your family's numbers, not anyone's average.
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Your odds + estimated cost across your whole college list, side by side.

The payoffTen years of typical graduate pay minus four years of cost — how many dollars ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten. Check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you; median pay reflects who a college admits and what they study as much as the college itself., both ways

+$447K ahead at full price +$477K with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$90,976
~$22,744/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$61,044
$15,261/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$537,550
$53,755/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
1.7 yrs
at full price (1.1 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (average net price among Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates who received aid) and each college's published cost of attendance. We don't show the federal net-price-by-income brackets: their categories were fixed in 2008 and never adjusted, and none of the averages is your family's own number — the full story. Payoff = (10-yr median earnings × 10) − (4 years of cost), in dollars — how far ahead a typical graduate runs by year ten; medians travel with the students a college admits and the majors they choose as much as with the college itself. Full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

What students study here

Most popular majors at Bemidji State University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Bemidji State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
189 degrees · 36.3%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Education
95 degrees · 18.2%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
3. Psychology
92 degrees · 17.7%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
4. Health Professions
90 degrees · 17.3%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
5. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
55 degrees · 10.6%
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.

What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Bemidji State University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. Bachelor's Degree 22 $85,830 $90,868
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 127 $77,639 $84,436
Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians. Bachelor's Degree 19 — $76,882
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 56 $58,446 $72,153
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 168 $47,396 $64,086
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 60 $49,617 $58,519
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 31 $32,388 $57,357
Social Work. Bachelor's Degree 21 $47,192 $56,345
Design and Applied Arts. Bachelor's Degree 17 $40,231 $54,642
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 56 $37,469 $50,548

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

AI program signal

AI + computing education at Bemidji State University

CS degrees (annual)
10
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Bemidji State University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $8,788 less before aid for GA residents
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $8,755 less before aid for IN residents
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
$14,110/yr full price (in-state) · $8,634 less before aid for NY residents
Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of Minnesota-Duluth
MN · Public
82% admit rate (vs 71% here)
Minnesota State University-Mankato
MN · Public
91% admit rate (vs 71% here)
Saint Cloud State University
MN · Public
95% admit rate (vs 71% here)

Or compare any college side-by-side

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Bemidji State University is a public four-year college in MN. It admitted 71% of applicants (2,860 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Middle 50% of enrolled first-years who submitted that test: ACT 18–23. 55% of enrolled first-years submitted an ACT score — this range describes students who submitted, not the whole class.

Cost: about $15,261 a year on average with aid, $22,744 a year at full price for in-state students.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $53,755 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $476,506 ahead with aid, $446,574 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General ($90,868); Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($84,436); Industrial Production Technologies/Technicians ($76,882).

Machine-readable version of this page: https://highschoolreach.com/colleges/bemidji-state-university.json

By major: AccountingBiologyBusiness AdministrationCommunicationCriminal Justice and CriminologyDesign (graphic, interior, industrial)Environmental ScienceKinesiologyLiberal Studies (teacher preparation)Nursing (BSN)PsychologySocial Work
Get your child's odds →

What families ask next

Can my kid get in? Score odds calculator → See how a higher SAT or ACT changes admit odds — college by college. What will it cost — and pay back? Earnings by major → What graduates actually earn, program by program. What do we do next? Free Family Decision Report Reach / Competitive / Match / Likely for every college on their list, plus the real cost. Start with a 10-second odds check — no email needed. Check odds →