10-yr median earnings
$45,846
Federal aid recipients only
Private Nonprofit · Sterling, Kansas
Sterling College
Sterling College is a private nonprofit institution in Sterling, Kansas. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.
- $45,846
- 10-yr median earnings
- 48.2%
- Acceptance rate
- $22,371
- Avg net price / yr
- 34.1%
- 150%-time completion
The verdict
Sterling College pairs above-median former-student earnings with a selective admit.
According to the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
- Top 37%
- former-student earnings, US
- 48.2%
- acceptance rate
- 34.1%
- 150%-time completion
- +13%
- earnings, 6→10 yrs
Rural: Remote
Carnegie: Bacc: Diverse
Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.
How to read this Sterling College 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 ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields"), 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
F
College Value Score
36/100
Sterling College
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 C+
$45,846
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price F
$22,371
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate F
34.1%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt F
$24,625
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment A-
78.8%
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention F
50.3%
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
$22,371
After grants and scholarships
150%-time completion
34.1%
Full-time, first-time cohort
150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 34.1%
Four-year-institution cohort
College ROI Quadrant - Sterling College 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 Sterling College 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.
Sterling College: former-student earnings vs. every US college
10-year median earnings, College Scorecard
$45,846 Top 37% higher than 63% 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 | Sterling College | National rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $45,846 | #1901 of 5103 | 63rd |
| Average net price | $22,371 | #3531 of 5020 | 30th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 34.1% | #4021 of 4858 | 17th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 538 | #2794 of 5462 | 49th |
National ranks count every operating US college reporting each metric to the College Scorecard, separate from the earnings histogram above.
Quick Facts
538
Undergraduate enrollment
48.2%
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
34.1%
150%-time completion
$45,846
10-yr median earnings
50.3%
First-year retention
How Sterling College ranks in Kansas
State rank among 74 reporting Kansas colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.
| Metric | Sterling College | State rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-yr median earnings | $45,846 | #34 of 74 | 54th |
| Average net price | $22,371 | #54 of 72 | 25th (lower is better) |
| 150%-time completion | 34.1% | #58 of 69 | 16th |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 538 | #41 of 74 | 45th |
Highest former-student earnings in Kansas
| # | School | 10-yr earnings | Net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baker University | $63,855 | $25,301 |
| 2 | Baker University School of Nursing | $63,855 | - |
| 3 | MidAmerica Nazarene University | $62,972 | $32,165 |
| 4 | University of Kansas | $61,945 | $18,059 |
| 5 | Galen Health Institutes-Wichita | $61,480 | $29,785 |
| 6 | University of Saint Mary | $59,483 | $22,519 |
| 7 | Kansas State University | $57,262 | $19,406 |
| 8 | Southwestern College | $55,646 | $29,824 |
| 9 | Ottawa University-Ottawa | $55,552 | $27,963 |
| 10 | Ottawa University-Online | $55,552 | - |
| 11 | Ottawa University-Kansas City | $55,552 | - |
| 12 | Newman University | $55,041 | $19,971 |
| 34 | Sterling CollegeThis school | $45,846 | $22,371 |
Admissions
| Admission Rate | 48.2% |
| ACT Average | 22 |
Costs & Financial Aid
Net price by family income at Sterling College
Average annual net price after grants; Title IV recipient cohort by income bracket
- $0 – $30k
$0 – $30k
$19,068 net price / yr
- $30k – $48k
$30k – $48k
$19,236 net price / yr
- $48k – $75k
$48k – $75k
$21,975 net price / yr
- $110k+
$110k+
$26,602 net price / yr
What this shows Need-based aid pulls net price down at lower brackets at Sterling College - compare the bar for your income band, not the overall average alone.
Tuition & Net Price
| In-State Tuition | $33,700 |
| Out-of-State Tuition | $33,700 |
| Average Net Price | $22,371 |
37.1%
Pell Grant Rate
48.8%
Federal Loan Rate
$24,625
Median Debt
$261/mo
Monthly Payment
What students pay at Sterling College rose +37.7% since 2013
Average net price for the reported Title IV-recipient cohort went from $16,264 in 2013 to $22,403 in 2023, a rise of $6,139 in nominal dollars. Across the 4,315 colleges measured over the same 2013–2023 span, the median change was +14.6%.
11 reported years. Nominal dollars, not adjusted for inflation.
2013 · $16,2642023 · $22,403
Over the same years, enrollment went -11.1% (640 → 569 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
37.3%
Female
34.1%
First Generation
Outcomes
50.3%
Retention Rate
$40,722
Median Earnings (6yr)
57.6%
Earning Over $25K
78.8%
Loan Repayment, Completers (3yr)
Outcomes & debt snapshot
| Measure | Cohort / horizon | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Completion within 150% of normal time | First-time, full-time | 34.1% |
| First-year retention | First-time, full-time freshmen | 50.3% |
| Median earnings | 6 years after entry | $40,722 |
| Median earnings | 10 years after entry | $45,846 |
| Share earning over $25,000 | Working, not enrolled | 57.6% |
| Loan repayment rate | Completers, 3 years after leaving | 78.8% |
| Median federal student debt | At completion | $24,625 |
| Estimated monthly payment | Standard 10-year plan | $261/mo |
Programs & Earnings
| Program | Credential | Completers | Median Earnings | Median Debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness | Bachelor's | 13 | $38,771 | $25,833 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | Bachelor's | 7 | - | - |
| Psychology, General | Bachelor's | 10 | - | - |
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.
Similar 2013–2023 Net-Price Trend
Same-sector institutions with the same direction and nearest fitted annual change; only series with R² of at least 0.40 qualify.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the acceptance rate at Sterling College? ▼
Sterling College is a private nonprofit institution in Sterling, Kansas. The acceptance rate is 48.2%. Undergraduate enrollment is 538 students.
How much do Sterling College former students earn? ▼
Federally aided former students at Sterling College who were working and not enrolled had median earnings of $45,846 ten years after entry; the cohort is not limited to graduates. Six years after entry, the corresponding median is $40,722.
How much does Sterling College cost? ▼
The average net price at Sterling College is $22,371. In-state tuition is $33,700 and out-of-state tuition is $33,700. Median student debt at graduation is $24,625.
What is the graduation rate at Sterling College? ▼
Sterling College has a 34.1% 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 50.3%.
Is Sterling College worth the student debt? ▼
The median student debt at Sterling College is $24,625, while former students earn a median of $45,846 ten years after enrollment. That debt represents about 54% of those annual earnings. Among borrowers who completed their program, 78.8% are repaying their loans within 3 years. Estimated monthly loan payment is $261.
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 Sterling College
- Compare Sterling College against schools with similar outcomes at a lower average net price.Find similar schools that cost less
- Browse every reporting college in Kansas side by side.Browse Kansas
- 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.