Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA · Private nonprofit · 2,259 undergrads (small, suburb) · website ↗

Interdenominational
Test-optional
$50 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$19,393
$30,000 – $48,000	$20,317
$48,000 – $75,000	$20,916
$75,000 – $110,000	$23,574
Over $110,000	$31,847
All incomes (average)	$26,502

Sticker tuition and fees: $42,240 in-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use Messiah University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$13,464
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$14,024
Books and supplies	$1,330
Other expenses, on campus	$2,930
Other expenses, off campus	$4,326

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (587 of them) in 2022–23; 100% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	100%	$24,223
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	22%	$4,504
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	100%	$21,885
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	63%	$7,955

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 79%
Average SAT: 1236
Median ACT: 27
Students with Pell grants: 20%
Graduation rate (6yr): 75%
Freshman retention: 89%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $54,064
Median debt at graduation: $25,621
International undergrads: 63 (2.4%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $50
Students per faculty member: 12 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 47%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 570–680
SAT Math: 540–670
ACT composite: 26–31

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 2,375
Admitted: 1,864
Enrolled: 596

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing17%

Business16%

Education14%

Engineering9%

Visual & Performing Arts9%

Biology & Life Sciences5%

Psychology5%

Communications & Media4%

Computer Science3%

Social Sciences2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (19)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General	51	$28,640	$54,256national $61,296	$25,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	47	$48,058	$54,115national $51,389	$27,000
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	43	$82,180	$77,824national $88,910	$26,862
Psychology, General	38	$39,732	$45,982national $50,706	$23,750
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	27	$48,378	$53,052national $47,382	$26,672
Business Administration, Management and Operations	27	$57,659	$66,222national $68,257	$23,105
Mechanical Engineering	21	—	—national $92,135	$25,519
Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services	18	$38,069	$46,813national $48,568	$25,250
Biology, General	16	—	—national $57,214	$23,250
Fine and Studio Arts	14	$32,113	$41,649national $41,367	$26,000
Finance and Financial Management Services	14	$63,871	—national $83,343	$27,000
Accounting and Related Services	13	$63,976	$81,907national $76,194	$22,250
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication	9	—	$45,522national $50,497	—
Computer Science	9	$64,152	$74,941national $107,009	$23,375
Social Work	9	—	$52,511national $51,790	—
Engineering, General	8	$71,006	$84,927national $89,359	—
Marketing	7	—	$67,900national $69,303	—
Communication and Media Studies	6	$47,091	—national $56,359	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	—	—	$56,005national $70,786	—

Undergraduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Marketing	20	$51,238	—national $49,757	$22,625

Master's degrees (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	86	$50,088	$55,966national $81,651	$55,085
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	36	$70,482	—national $71,416	$71,750
Music	28	$66,907	$77,342national $48,285	$32,196
Business Administration, Management and Operations	20	$75,370	—national $103,485	—
Education, General	12	$58,404	$60,976national $65,824	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	9	$55,524	—national $71,685	—

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	0	$78,498	—national $82,893	$120,906

Graduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences, Other	11	$59,699	$65,838national $81,978	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 69 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: One University Avenue, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
Phone: (717) 766-2511
Institutional accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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