Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, MN · Public · 5,616 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
No 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	$15,238
$30,000 – $48,000	$16,656
$48,000 – $75,000	$16,659
$75,000 – $110,000	$18,994
Over $110,000	$21,905
All incomes (average)	$16,863

Sticker tuition and fees: $9,840 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 Metropolitan State 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, off campus (not with family)	$15,864
Books and supplies	$1,500
Other expenses, off campus	$9,064

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

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (101 of them) in 2022–23; 90% 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	79%	$8,021
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	67%	$5,660
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	5%	$2,774
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	21%	$5,016

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: 99%
Average SAT: 1020
Median ACT: —
Students with Pell grants: 48%
Graduation rate (6yr): 44%
Freshman retention: 68%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $64,705
Median debt at graduation: $17,100
International undergrads: 127 (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: None
Students per faculty member: 15 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 35%
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: —
SAT Math: —
ACT composite: 16–21

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	Not considered
Recommendations	Not considered
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	Considered if submitted
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 542
Admitted: 523
Enrolled: 158

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.

Business25%

Computer Science18%

Health & Nursing10%

Psychology9%

Criminal Justice6%

Education3%

Biology & Life Sciences3%

Communications & Media2%

English & Literature2%

Social Sciences1%

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 (29)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	192	$63,242	$71,209national $68,257	$16,000
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other	126	$51,608	$58,568national $55,693	$15,250
Psychology, General	120	$42,405	$55,824national $50,706	$14,025
Computer Science	85	$73,615	$92,342national $107,009	$13,342
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	76	$82,260	$83,504national $88,910	$14,490
Computer and Information Sciences, General	73	$58,450	$85,000national $92,374	$12,500
Accounting and Related Services	62	$62,923	$72,457national $76,194	$20,304
Criminal Justice and Corrections	60	$55,410	$64,481national $55,378	$21,445
Social Work	54	$49,535	$60,755national $51,790	$21,500
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	52	$69,315	$83,558national $85,063	$16,251
Human Services, General	48	$48,267	$51,009national $48,597	$13,946
Finance and Financial Management Services	48	$58,367	$74,237national $83,343	$18,077
Marketing	46	$52,892	$67,031national $69,303	$15,000
Human Resources Management and Services	38	$57,316	$70,299national $68,069	$18,000
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	36	$59,286	$60,780national $52,119	$22,609
Biology, General	35	$47,902	$63,149national $57,214	$14,187
Communication and Media Studies	34	$53,018	$61,355national $56,359	$13,106
Information Science/Studies	31	$64,292	$81,539national $85,294	$17,250
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	29	$44,463	$49,025national $47,382	$18,000
Social Sciences, General	24	$44,618	$48,486national $53,366	$15,000
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies	18	$45,949	$59,779national $48,471	—
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	14	$45,499	—national $55,012	—
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions	13	$74,024	$73,027national $68,061	—
Chemistry	11	—	$63,580national $65,120	—
Research and Experimental Psychology	11	$43,104	$40,230national $55,695	—
English Language and Literature, General	10	$42,691	$39,572national $48,590	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	9	$41,998	$48,948national $51,389	—
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	6	$50,255	$60,352national $53,072	—
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies	3	—	$45,801national $51,710	—

Undergraduate certificates (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Criminal Justice and Corrections	14	—	$90,231national $57,702	—

Master's degrees (6)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	47	$81,126	$89,595national $103,485	$30,750
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	44	$106,885	$79,007national $120,193	$61,500
Community Organization and Advocacy	18	$59,532	$70,849national $67,597	$41,000
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	18	—	—national $59,571	$38,565
Computer and Information Sciences, General	17	$107,885	$97,987national $124,201	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	8	$61,571	—national $71,685	—

Doctoral degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	—	$110,618	$128,165national $138,131	$82,000

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 51 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 700 East Seventh Street, Saint Paul, MN 55106-5000
Phone: (651) 793-1300
Institutional accreditor: Higher Learning Commission

Is Metropolitan State University a reach, target, or safety for you?

Take the 5-minute quiz and see how it stacks up against 1,595 other colleges — ranked by fit and by what your family would actually pay.

Find my matches →

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.

Similar colleges in the United States

Picked by control, selectivity, mix of majors, location and size, from the same data as this page — not a judgement of quality.