Messiah University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Messiah University

Messiah University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania (suburb: large), with a total reported enrollment of 2,259 students of which 2,725 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. Messiah University is categorized as “18” 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 79.0%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,236 and an ACT midpoint of 27. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $26,502, with published in-state tuition of $42,240 and a Pell grant recipient share of 19.6%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $25,621, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 76.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 88.6%. Graduates earn a median of $54,064 ten years after enrolling, compared with $50,192 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 121800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 67.0% 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.