Dakota Wesleyan University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Dakota Wesleyan University

Dakota Wesleyan University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Mitchell, South Dakota (town: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 670 students of which 820 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Dakota Wesleyan University is categorized as “22” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 73.4%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,735, with published in-state tuition of $33,790 and a Pell grant recipient share of 27.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $27,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 47.3%, and the first-year retention rate is 75.1%. Graduates earn a median of $53,728 ten years after enrolling, compared with $49,432 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 47900.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 67.7% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.