A parent's read

  • The 6× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$56,258/yr. There's no income cutoff for need-based aid — whether you qualify depends on the gap between a school's price and your family's finances, so at a price like this even six-figure incomes often show need. Families who receive aid average ~$24,018/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~6× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

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

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

Parent/student verdict

Accessible

Accessible for most applicants.

Best for

  • Students focused on Health Professions (the school's signature program)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

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?

Enter their numbers once — this and every college page shows their verdict, and the UC campus cards on California school pages light up with it too. Free, no email.

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
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Undergraduates
2,266
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.
$40,664
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.
95.3%
Accepts the majority
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.
$58,759
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
$55,704
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.
$58,759
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.
67%
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 Marian 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.
$24,018/yr
average among aid-receiving families, all incomes — your number depends on your finances
If you don't
$56,258/yr
the full published price

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

Get your family's number — Marian 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.
Start your Family Decision Report →

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

+$363K ahead at full price +$492K 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)
$225,032
~$56,258/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$96,072
$24,018/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$587,590
$58,759/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
3.8 yrs
at full price (1.6 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; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

What students study here

Most popular majors at Marian University

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

1. Health Professions
371 degrees · 68.3%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
77 degrees · 14.2%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Education
36 degrees · 6.6%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
34 degrees · 6.3%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
5. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
25 degrees · 4.6%
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.

What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Marian 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 334 $71,111 $81,706
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 22 $55,120 $77,771
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 13 $59,783 $76,780
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 40 $50,740 $66,959
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness. Bachelor's Degree 31 $33,564 $66,491
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 24 $44,540 $61,951
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 26 $35,938 $54,648
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 10 $34,639 $53,635
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. Bachelor's Degree 35 $38,978 $50,399

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 Marian 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 at Birmingham
AL · Public
17 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Kentucky
KY · Public
8 stats-based + 5 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) · $44,421 less before aid for IN residents
Gordon State College
GA · Public
$14,771/yr full price (in-state) · $41,487 less before aid for GA residents
CUNY Medgar Evers College
NY · Public
$14,771/yr full price (in-state) · $41,487 less before aid for NY residents

Or compare any college side-by-side

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At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Marian University is a private nonprofit four-year college in IN. It admitted 95% of applicants (3,883 applied, 2023). Test policy: Test-optional.

Cost: about $24,018 a year on average with aid, $56,258 a year at full price.

Median earnings ten years after entry: $58,759 a year. Payoff, meaning ten years of that pay minus four years of cost: $491,518 ahead with aid, $362,558 ahead at full price.

Highest median earnings four years after the degree, by program: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($81,706); Finance and Financial Management Services ($77,771); Accounting and Related Services ($76,780).

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

By major: AccountingBiologyBusiness AdministrationFinanceKinesiologyLiberal Studies (teacher preparation)MarketingNursing (BSN)Psychology
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