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🎓 College profile

Dakota Wesleyan University

SD · Private nonprofit · Remote town · 1,153 applicants 2023

73% admit rate $22,416/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The 7× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$43,864/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$19,735/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~7× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
  • Worth asking: the four-year finish rate. Only 48% finish in four years here. Ask what drives that — course availability, transfers, work loads — because a fifth year is a real cost few families budget for.

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

Get your child's odds at Dakota Wesleyan University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Dakota Wesleyan University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Heavy discounting — aid recipients average ~$19,735/yr net; strong students should also check the merit grid.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Health Professions or Business, Management, & Marketing (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

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

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Total enrollment
670
Under 1,000
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$33,790
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
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.
72.8%
Accessible
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.
$53,728
median, after entry

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
$49,432
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.
$53,728
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
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."
$27,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $22,416/yr at Dakota Wesleyan University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$43,864/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Dakota Wesleyan University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$22,416/yr
Family income $75-110k
$19,048/yr
Family income $48-75k
$15,927/yr
Family income $30-48k
$15,750/yr
Family income $0-30k
$15,251/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

3.1× at full price 6.8× 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)
$175,456
~$43,864/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$78,940
$19,735/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$537,280
$53,728/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
3.3 yrs
at full price (1.5 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Dakota Wesleyan University

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

1. Health Professions
35 degrees · 29.2%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
33 degrees · 27.5%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Education
22 degrees · 18.3%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Psychology
17 degrees · 14.2%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
13 degrees · 10.8%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.

💼 What those majors earn here

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

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 40 $67,981 $76,515

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 →

Alternatives to Dakota Wesleyan 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.
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $32,027 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $29,908 less before aid
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $29,875 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
SD · Public
85% admit rate (vs 73% here)
Black Hills State University
SD · Public
94% admit rate (vs 73% here)
Dakota State University
SD · Public
98% admit rate (vs 73% here)

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