BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Simpson College

Indianola, Iowa·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Plains·simpson.edu
6-yr Graduation
63%
-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
1,251
peer median 1,109
Avg net price
$21,936
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Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
2,046
2,046 candidates competed
Admitted
1,764
86.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
381
21.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
63%-1.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
51%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
63%
Full-time retention
81%

Pell equity

14.7pp gap
Pell recipients
56%100 of 179
Non-Pell (all)
71%128 of 181
Subsidized loan, no Pell
68%63 of 92
No Federal Aid
73%65 of 89

Non-Pell students graduate at a 14.7-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.

Of 50 Title IV programs, 14 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 36 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
50
Passing
14
28.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

50programs
  • Passing14 · 28.0%
  • No Data36 · 72.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
13
No data
36

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.

14
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Master's Degree · Education
+12.0%
$51,713 vs $46,158
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+28.1%
$46,237 vs $36,082
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+28.9%
$46,495 vs $36,082
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
+37.7%
$49,696 vs $36,082
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+38.5%
$49,966 vs $36,082
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
+52.2%
$54,919 vs $36,082
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+58.7%
$57,279 vs $36,082
Public Relations Advertising and Applied Communication
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+69.7%
$61,219 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

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

12
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Bachelor Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
56%
$26,000 debt · $46,237 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
56%
$26,000 debt · $46,495 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Subject Areas
Bachelor Degree · Education
54%
$27,000 debt · $49,696 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
54%
$27,000 debt · $49,966 earn
Sports Kinesiology and Physical Education/Fitness
Bachelor Degree · Parks, Recreation, Leisure, And Fitness Studies
49%
$27,000 debt · $54,919 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
44%
$25,125 debt · $57,279 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
42%
$27,000 debt · $63,790 earn
Public Relations Advertising and Applied Communication
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
37%
$22,716 debt · $61,219 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1913Next review Aug 2026

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 2

  1. Feb 2016Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$17,941
$30–48k$15,764
$48–75k$19,176
$75–110k$22,468
$110k+$26,586

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

Avg net price (private)
$21,936
vs Baccalaureate median $21,960
Federal loans
70.6%
In-state tuition
$47,656
Out-of-state
$47,656

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 526 students received $3.0M in Pell grants, alongside $7.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
526
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.0M
$3,048,476 total
Direct Loans
$7.9M
1,622 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$2.6M
648 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.1M
824 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$127K
11 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.0M
138 loan awards
Grad PLUS$2K
1 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.

Of 459 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (0.8%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.8%
-1.5pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
459
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.5%
2017
3.7%
2018
3.4%
2019
0.8%
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 Simpson College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs48
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

268 total completions
01Business
4717.5%
02Education
3814.2%
03Health Professions
3312.3%
04Biological Sciences
2810.4%
05Social Sciences
2710.1%
06Parks/Recreation
249.0%
07Communication
207.5%
08Security/Protective
197.1%
09Visual/Performing Arts
176.3%
10Computer Sciences
155.6%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,251
12-mo unduplicated
1,341
Undergraduate
1,303
Graduate
38

Gender split

Men
50%671
Women
50%670

Race / ethnicity composition

White
72.5%
Hispanic
12.9%
Black
4.2%
Two or more
4.2%
Non-resident
2.7%
Asian
1.9%
Unknown
1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
683
392 M · 291 W
Women athletes
42.6%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$4.7M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$51K
$25K
Head-coach salaries
$39K
$34K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
135 M · 93 W
$308K
Football
115 M ·
$573K
Soccer
48 M · 43 W
$360K
Wrestling
22 M · 37 W
$342K
Baseball
59 M ·
$238K
Basketball
26 M · 25 W
$413K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.86
1 offenses · 1,163 students

3-year trend

3.282 yrs ago6.951 yr ago0.86Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
13
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
5
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
3

Criminal offenses by type

Arson
1

By location

1total
  • On campus1

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
1 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs24
Liquor046

Residence-hall fires

  • Theme House 10/11/LU House1 fire
    ElectricalDamage $100,000-$249,999

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
12.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
76

Simpson College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Simpson College selected for federal comparison reporting.

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
SubjectSimpson College
63%1,251$21,936Baccalaureate
68%99.9%1,189$20,716Baccalaureate
33%51.9%1,425$22,601Baccalaureate
65%67.5%611$16,282Baccalaureate
39%99.1%1,028$21,983Baccalaureate
65%99.0%852$25,817Baccalaureate
Peer group median64%99.0%1,109$21,960

Institutions like Simpson College

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

Simpson College Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Team
1 member
  • Luke Behaunek
    Director of Institutional Effectiveness and the HLC Accreditation Liaison Officer

Frequently asked questions about Simpson College

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

What is the graduation rate at Simpson College?

Simpson College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 63% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Simpson College?

Simpson College reports a total enrollment of 1,251 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Simpson College?

The average net price at Simpson College is $21,936 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Simpson College?

Simpson College's yield rate is 21.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Simpson College located?

Simpson College is located in Indianola, Iowa 50125.

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.
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.
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.
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
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.
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.
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.

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