Mars Hill University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Mars Hill University

Mars Hill University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Mars Hill, North Carolina (rural: fringe), with a total reported enrollment of 1,044 students of which 1,059 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. Mars Hill 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 67.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,910, with published in-state tuition of $37,736 and a Pell grant recipient share of 46.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 43.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 69.3%. Graduates earn a median of $44,781 ten years after enrolling, compared with $35,680 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 88300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 54.2% 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.