10-yr median earnings
$54,064
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Messiah University
Messiah University is a private nonprofit institution in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $54,064
- 10-yr median earnings
- 79.0%
- Acceptance rate
- $26,502
- Avg net price / yr
- 76.8%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Messiah University pairs top-quartile former-student earnings with a moderately open admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 23%
- former-student earnings, US
- 79.0%
- acceptance rate
- 76.8%
- 150%-time completion
- +8%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Suburb: Large
Carnegie: Master's (L)
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Messiah University profile
Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.
Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.
Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.
College Value Score
C
College Value Score
59/100
Messiah University
A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.
Earnings B+
$54,064
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$26,502
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate A-
76.8%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$25,621
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A+
88.5%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention A-
88.6%
First-year students returning for year two
Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.
Avg net price
$26,502
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
76.8%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 76.8%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Messiah University vs peers
Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.
How Messiah University ranks nationally
Where this school's former-student earnings fall within the full national distribution of every US college that reports to the College Scorecard, not just its peer set.
Messiah University: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$54,064 Top 23% higher than 77% of 5,103 US colleges
Each bar is a $20K-wide band; taller bars hold more US colleges. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard · Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals
| Metric | Messiah University | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $54,064 | #1171 of 5103 | 77th |
| Average net price | $26,502 | #4094 of 5020 | 18th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 76.8% | #887 of 4858 | 82nd |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,259 | #1360 of 5462 | 75th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
2,259
Undergraduate enrollment
79.0%
Acceptance rate
1,236
SAT average
76.8%
150%-time completion
$54,064
10-yr median earnings
88.6%
First-year retention
How Messiah University ranks in Pennsylvania
State rank among 270 reporting Pennsylvania colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Messiah University | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $54,064 | #114 of 270 | 58th |
| Average net price | $26,502 | #203 of 264 | 23rd (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 76.8% | #60 of 259 | 77th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 2,259 | #50 of 282 | 82nd |
Highest former-student earnings in Pennsylvania
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine | $138,767 | - |
| 2 | Carnegie Mellon University | $114,862 | $31,944 |
| 3 | University of Pennsylvania | $111,371 | $28,699 |
| 4 | Lehigh University | $105,584 | $36,931 |
| 5 | Villanova University | $100,423 | $43,756 |
| 6 | Bucknell University | $93,807 | $40,766 |
| 7 | Lafayette College | $91,410 | $34,433 |
| 8 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia | $86,881 | $29,689 |
| 9 | Saint Joseph's University - Lancaster | $86,881 | $42,478 |
| 10 | Joseph F McCloskey School of Nursing | $86,138 | - |
| 11 | Drexel University | $84,648 | $38,509 |
| 12 | Swarthmore College | $80,257 | $23,149 |
| 114 | Messiah UniversityThis school | $54,064 | $26,502 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 79.0% |
| SAT Average | 1,236 |
| SAT Math (25th-75th) | 540 – 670 |
| SAT Reading (25th-75th) | 570 – 680 |
| ACT Average | 27 |
| ACT (25th-75th) | 26 – 31 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Messiah University
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$19,393 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$20,317 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$20,916 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$31,847 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Messiah University - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $42,240 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $42,240 |
| Average Net Price | $26,502 |
19.6%
Pell Grant Rate
54.1%
Federal Loan Rate
$25,621
Median Debt
$272/mo
Monthly Payment
Net price at Messiah University swings rather than trends
Across 11 reported years between 2013 and 2023, the average net price here has ranged from $23,560 to $28,141 without settling into a rise or a fall. Comparing only the first and last years would read as +11.0%, but the years in between do not follow that line, so the honest summary is the range rather than a trend. Budget against the upper end, not the average.
Lowest year
$23,560
Highest year
$28,141
Most recent (2023)
$27,686
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $24,9472023 · $27,686
Over the same years, enrollment went -15.4% (2,739 → 2,318 students).
Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, per-year fields (2013–2023). Net price is the average cost after grant and scholarship aid for federally-aided undergraduates.
Student Demographics
Race & ethnicity
Student body at a glance
63.4%
Female
18.2%
First Generation
Outcomes
88.6%
Retention Rate
$50,192
Median Earnings (6yr)
67.0%
Earning Over $25K
88.5%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 76.8% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 88.6% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $50,192 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $54,064 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 67.0% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 88.5% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $25,621 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $272/mo |
Programs & Earnings
Field-of-study summary by credential
| Credential | Programs | Award count | Avg earnings | Top earnings | Avg debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor's | 23 | 377 | $60,242 | $84,927 | $25,664 |
| Master's | 6 | 189 | $64,761 | $77,342 | $46,098 |
| Graduate Certificate | 2 | 20 | $65,838 | $65,838 | - |
| Certificate | 1 | 9 | - | - | $26,500 |
Top programs at Messiah University by completer earnings
Median earnings of program completers, College Scorecard field-of-study file
- Engineering, General
Engineering, General
$84,927 median earnings
- Accounting and Related Ser…
Accounting and Related Services
$81,907 median earnings
- Registered Nursing, Nursin…
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
$77,824 median earnings
- Music
Music
$77,342 median earnings
- Computer Science
Computer Science
$74,941 median earnings
- Marketing
Marketing
$67,900 median earnings
- Business Administration, M…
Business Administration, Management and Operations
$66,222 median earnings
- Health Professions and Rel…
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other
$65,838 median earnings
What this shows The highest-earning programs at a school are not necessarily its most popular ones - a small specialized program can post strong median earnings without reflecting the outcome most students here actually see.
Nearby Schools
Central Penn College
Summerdale, PA
662 students
Harrisburg University of Science and Technology
Harrisburg, PA
615 students
Harrisburg Area Community College
Harrisburg, PA
9,533 students
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA
2,273 students
Barber and Beauty Academy of Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, PA
47 students
Explore Data-Matched Colleges
Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.
Similar Enrollment and Sector
Other Private Nonprofit institutions closest in reported enrollment, preferring the same Carnegie classification.
Similar Reported Net Price
Other Private Nonprofit institutions with the nearest reported average net price.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Messiah University? ▼
Messiah University is a private nonprofit institution in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The acceptance rate is 79.0%. The average SAT score is 1,236. Undergraduate enrollment is 2,259 students.
How much do Messiah University former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Messiah University who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $54,064 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $50,192.
How much does Messiah University cost? ▼
The average net price at Messiah University is $26,502. In-state tuition is $42,240 and out-of-state tuition is $42,240. Median student debt at graduation is $25,621.
What is the graduation rate at Messiah University? ▼
Messiah University has a 76.8% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 88.6%.
Is Messiah University worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Messiah University is $25,621, while former students earn a median of $54,064 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 47% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 88.5% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $272.
Sources & methodology
Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.
Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.
- College Scorecard, U.S. Department of Education - former-student earnings, cost & completion (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- IPEDS, National Center for Education Statistics - enrollment, admissions, Carnegie class & demographics (nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
- U.S. Treasury / IRS earnings linkage - median earnings 6 & 10 years after enrollment for federal-aid recipients (irs.gov).
- College Scorecard, Field of Study - program-level (credential) earnings & debt (collegescorecard.ed.gov).
- Federal Student Aid (Title IV / NSLDS) - U.S. Department of Education - net price, student debt & aid-recipient repayment outcomes (studentaid.gov).
Where to go next from Messiah University
- Compare Messiah University against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Pennsylvania side by side.Browse Pennsylvania
- See how fields of study differ on former-student earnings and debt.Explore programs
Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.
Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.