William Carey University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for William Carey University

William Carey University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 2,201 students of which 4,156 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. William Carey University is categorized as “17” 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 60.3%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,122 and an ACT midpoint of 25. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $14,258, with published in-state tuition of $15,480 and a Pell grant recipient share of 27.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,832, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 50.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 77.9%. Graduates earn a median of $43,087 ten years after enrolling, compared with $37,639 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 144100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 59.1% 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.