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🎓 College profile

Minnesota State University Moorhead

MN · Public · Mid-size suburb · 4,654 applicants 2023

53% admit rate $22,420/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$25,197/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$50,527/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • 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 Minnesota State University Moorhead Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Minnesota State University Moorhead starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$17,997/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$10,428 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: ACT below 19 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

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
M1: Master's - Larger Programs
Total enrollment
3,072
1,000 - 4,999
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.
$10,428
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.
52.6%
Moderately selective
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
19–24
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.
$50,527
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
$45,873
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.
$50,527
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.
57%
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."
$20,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $22,420/yr at Minnesota State University Moorhead; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$25,197/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 Minnesota State University Moorhead's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$22,420/yr
Family income $75-110k
$18,644/yr
Family income $48-75k
$13,907/yr
Family income $30-48k
$11,547/yr
Family income $0-30k
$11,129/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

5.0× at full price 7.0× 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)
$100,788
~$25,197/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$71,988
$17,997/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$505,270
$50,527/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.0 yrs
at full price (1.4 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, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Minnesota State University Moorhead

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
203 degrees · 32.8%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
147 degrees · 23.7%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Education
140 degrees · 22.6%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Visual & Performing Arts
68 degrees · 11.0%
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
61 degrees · 9.9%
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 — Minnesota State University Moorhead's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Construction Management. Bachelor's Degree 21 $70,084 $93,431
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 85 $78,006 $86,563
Information Science/Studies. Bachelor's Degree 15 $49,625 $74,016
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 29 $48,121 $67,054
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 27 $50,867 $65,476
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 141 $53,228 $64,466
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 32 $32,422 $64,455
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services. Bachelor's Degree 41 — $57,260
Health and Medical Administrative Services. Bachelor's Degree 18 — $55,942
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 42 $44,037 $55,577

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 Minnesota State University Moorhead

CS degrees (annual)
21
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Minnesota State University Moorhead

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 South Carolina-Columbia
SC · Public
8 stats-based + 3 competitive scholarships
Auburn University
AL · Public
3 stats-based merit scholarships
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
TN · Public
2 stats-based merit 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.
CUNY Hunter College
NY · Public
$13,905/yr full price (in-state) · $11,292 less before aid
CUNY Lehman College
NY · Public
$14,121/yr full price (in-state) · $11,076 less before aid
CUNY Brooklyn College
NY · Public
$14,151/yr full price (in-state) · $11,046 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
Winona State University
MN · Public
68% admit rate (vs 53% here)
Southwest Minnesota State University
MN · Public
69% admit rate (vs 53% here)
Bemidji State University
MN · Public
71% admit rate (vs 53% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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