Saint Cloud State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Saint Cloud State University

Saint Cloud State University operates as a public institution located in Saint Cloud, Minnesota (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 5,088 students of which 9,922 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. Saint Cloud State 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 94.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,092 and an ACT midpoint of 21. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,529, with published in-state tuition of $10,245 and a Pell grant recipient share of 21.7%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,058, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 43.9%, and the first-year retention rate is 70.7%. Graduates earn a median of $55,813 ten years after enrolling, compared with $47,215 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 649200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 74.6% 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.