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🎓 College profile

Ottawa University-Ottawa

KS · Private nonprofit · Distant town · 3,600 applicants 2023

80% admit rate SAT 880–1140 $30,771/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The 5× payoff headline requires aid. Without aid this runs ~$51,856/yr, and many families above ~$110K income won't qualify for need-based aid here. Families who do receive aid average ~$27,963/yr — against that, ten years of median earnings run ~5× the cost. Run the college's own net-price calculator before anchoring on the multiple.
  • Worth asking: the four-year finish rate. Only 28% 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 Ottawa University-Ottawa Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Ottawa University-Ottawa starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants.

✅ Best for

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

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 880, or ACT below 16 (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
Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Total enrollment
870
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.
$35,880
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.
80.0%
Accepts the majority
SAT 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.
880–1140
EBRW + Math composite
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.
16–21
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.
$55,552
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
$49,139
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.
$55,552
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.
28%
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."
$21,500

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $30,771/yr at Ottawa University-Ottawa; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$51,856/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 Ottawa University-Ottawa's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$30,771/yr
Family income $75-110k
$30,199/yr
Family income $48-75k
$25,525/yr
Family income $30-48k
$22,912/yr
Family income $0-30k
$22,449/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

2.7× at full price 5.0× 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)
$207,424
~$51,856/yr all-in
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$111,852
$27,963/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$555,520
$55,552/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
3.7 yrs
at full price (2.0 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 Ottawa University-Ottawa

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

1. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness
32 degrees · 27.4%
Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.
2. Business, Management, & Marketing
29 degrees · 24.8%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
3. Psychology
22 degrees · 18.8%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
4. Education
21 degrees · 17.9%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
5. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
13 degrees · 11.1%
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 — Ottawa University-Ottawa'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 — $76,207 $92,782
Health and Medical Administrative Services. Bachelor's Degree — $75,385 $82,317
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 10 $51,664 $72,368
Human Resources Management and Services. Bachelor's Degree — $49,063 $66,759
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 22 $51,627 $64,798
Communication and Media Studies. Bachelor's Degree 5 $33,465 $59,445
Human Services, General. Bachelor's Degree — $35,168 $52,309
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. Bachelor's Degree 4 $42,056 $50,010
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree — $39,596 $43,959

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 Ottawa University-Ottawa

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.
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Louisville
KY · Public
13 stats-based + 6 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) · $40,019 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $37,900 less before aid
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $37,867 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
Fort Hays State University
KS · Public
92% admit rate (vs 80% here)
Wichita State University
KS · Public
95% admit rate (vs 80% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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