🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable on average — net price runs around $11,704/yr.

✅ Best for

  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Total enrollment
1,073
1,000 - 4,999
In-state tuition
$45,080
sticker, before aid
Tuition
$45,080
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rate
88.8%
Accepts the majority
Test policy
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earnings
$58,170
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$54,549
Earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$58,170
4-year completion
66%
Median debt (completers)
$21,500
Cost of attendance
$57,380
sticker price, not net
Pell-eligible students
25%

💰 True ROI

12.4× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)
$46,816
$11,704/yr avg net
Aid that hides behind the sticker
$182,704
vs sticker $229,520
10-yr earnings total
$581,700
$58,170/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup actual cost
0.8 yrs
at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At Saint Mary's University of Minnesota, the average net price is $11,704/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k
$16,182/yr
Family income $30-48k
$15,175/yr
Family income $48-75k
$15,030/yr
Family income $75-110k
$14,771/yr
Family income $110k+
$6,135/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from Saint Mary's University of Minnesota →

Opens on Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Saint Mary's University of Minnesota actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
68 degrees · 33.7%
Typical career outcomes
Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
61 degrees · 30.2%
Typical career outcomes
Registered Nurse $86k Physician Assistant $130k Pharmacist $136k Physical Therapist (post-DPT) $100k
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
27 degrees · 13.4%
Typical career outcomes
Project Manager $99k Management Analyst $99k Research Analyst $79k
Often paired with another field (data + biology, design + tech). Outcomes match the second discipline.
4. Psychology
25 degrees · 12.4%
Typical career outcomes
HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Computer & Information Sciences
21 degrees · 10.4%
Typical career outcomes
Software Developer $132k Data Scientist $108k Information Security Analyst $120k Web Developer $85k
High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Bachelor's Degree 10 $84,323 $104,761
Human Resources Management and Services. Bachelor's Degree 9 $83,079
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 15 $64,894 $79,464
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. Bachelor's Degree 4 $57,558 $78,856
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 21 $55,158 $76,285
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 49 $56,290 $74,942
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 16 $58,451 $74,642
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 10 $54,833 $73,887
Health and Medical Administrative Services. Bachelor's Degree 18 $51,660 $66,139
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 29 $43,805

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Saint Mary's University of Minnesota

CS degrees (annual)
10
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota vs. another college

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