BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

McPherson College

McPherson, Kansas·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·mcpherson.edu
6-yr Graduation
34%
-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
878
peer median 786
Avg net price
$26,441
+$1.9k vs Baccalaureate
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AdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeers

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
1,846
1,846 candidates competed
Admitted
1,417
76.8% acceptance rate
Enrolled
318
22.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
34%-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
29%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
34%
Full-time retention
65%

Pell equity

13.1pp gap
Pell recipients
26%17 of 66
Non-Pell (all)
39%41 of 105
Subsidized loan, no Pell
38%16 of 42
No Federal Aid
40%25 of 63

Non-Pell students graduate at a 13.1-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 40 Title IV programs, 2 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 38 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
40
Passing
2
5.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

40programs
  • Passing2 · 5.0%
  • No Data38 · 95.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
2
No data
38

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

2
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+38.9%
$48,331 vs $34,808
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians
Bachelor Degree · Engineering Technologies/Technicians
+51.6%
$52,781 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

2
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
52%
$25,000 debt · $48,331 earn
Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians
Bachelor Degree · Engineering Technologies/Technicians
51%
$27,000 debt · $52,781 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1940Next review Aug 2035

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 1

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$22,587
$30–48k$20,939
$48–75k$28,655
$75–110k$28,737
$110k+$31,043

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$26,441
+$1,885vs Baccalaureate median $24,556
Federal loans
63.7%
In-state tuition
$37,310
Out-of-state
$37,310

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 398 students received $2.2M in Pell grants, alongside $6.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
398
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$2.2M
$2,204,148 total
Direct Loans
$6.1M
1,126 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.8M
462 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.7M
508 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.6M
156 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 206 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (1.9%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.9%
-0.4pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
206
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
13.2%
2017
12.0%
2018
8.0%
2019
1.9%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at McPherson College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs39
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

167 total completions
01Business
4024.0%
02Engineering Tech
3722.2%
03Health Professions
1911.4%
04Parks/Recreation
148.4%
05Communication
148.4%
06Psychology
127.2%
07Education
127.2%
08Visual/Performing Arts
84.8%
09Social Sciences
63.6%
10Biological Sciences
53.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
878
12-mo unduplicated
913
Undergraduate
905
Graduate
8

Gender split

Men
67%611
Women
33%302

Race / ethnicity composition

White
52.4%
Hispanic
14.4%
Black
13.5%
Unknown
7.8%
Non-resident
6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native
3.3%
Asian
1.9%
Two or more
0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
564
378 M · 186 W
Women athletes
33.0%
Athletic aid
$12.4M
Total student aid
Budget
$14.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$8.2M
$3.8M
Recruiting expense
$17K
$16K
Head-coach salaries
$45K
$41K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 9

Football
169 M · —
$4.5M
Baseball
87 M · —
$1.7M
Basketball
50 M · 33 W
$2.3M
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
41 M · 32 W
$986K
Soccer
34 M · 23 W
$1.3M
Volleyball
— · 44 W
$1.2M

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
5.08
4 offenses · 788 students

3-year trend

2.382 yrs ago13.381 yr ago5.08Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
17
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
8
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
4
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
3
Burglary
1

By location

4total
  • On campus4

Includes 4 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
2
Dating violence
3
Stalking
5 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs07
Liquor018

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
16.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
49

McPherson College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions McPherson College selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectMcPherson College
34%—878$26,441Baccalaureate
Tabor College
34%64.6%621$20,205Baccalaureate
Sterling College
41%48.2%694$22,371Baccalaureate
Bethany College
36%56.0%615$27,686Baccalaureate
Kansas Wesleyan University
49%71.9%1,021$22,671Baccalaureate
Ottawa University-Ottawa
28%83.0%999$27,963Baccalaureate
Peer group median35%64.6%786$24,556

Institutions like McPherson College

Explore the federal data for institutions in McPherson College's comparison group.

IPEDS

Frequently asked questions about McPherson College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about McPherson College.

What is the graduation rate at McPherson College?

McPherson College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 34% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend McPherson College?

McPherson College reports a total enrollment of 878 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at McPherson College?

The average net price at McPherson College is $26,441 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at McPherson College?

McPherson College's yield rate is 22.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is McPherson College located?

McPherson College is located in McPherson, Kansas 67460-1402.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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