Southwest Baptist University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Southwest Baptist University

Southwest Baptist University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Bolivar, Missouri (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 1,341 students of which 1,841 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. Southwest Baptist 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 68.4%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,088 and an ACT midpoint of 22. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $21,677, with published in-state tuition of $30,566 and a Pell grant recipient share of 36.3%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,957, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 53.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 64.8%. Graduates earn a median of $43,112 ten years after enrolling, compared with $38,855 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 154300.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 61.2% 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.