Private nonprofit · University
Maharishi International University
Fairfield, Iowa · Remote town
- 95.7%
- Admit rate
- $14,956
- Avg net price
- 50%
- Graduation rate
- $27,981
- Median earnings
Maharishi International University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Fairfield, Iowa (remote town setting), enrolling 922 undergraduates.
About Fairfield, Iowa
Fairfield is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Iowa, United States. The name was suggested by Nancy Bonnifield, one of the settlers, because it aptly described the fair fields of the area. But author Susan Welty suggests it was also a play of words on the woman's own name (bonny field). The first library in the state of Iowa was established in Fairfield in 1853, first housed in a rented room off the city square. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Remote town
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 68 miles to Cedar Rapids, IA
- To Great Lakes shore
- 231 miles
- Nearest airport
- 47 miles to Southeast Iowa (BRL)
How Maharishi International University compares
More selective than 12% · #24 most selective of 28 in Iowa
Higher than 40% · #24 of 30 in Iowa
Higher than 15%
Higher than 2% · #31 of 31 in Iowa
Cheaper than 73% · #1 cheapest of 29 in Iowa
Lower than 40%
Lower than 50%
Larger than 35%
Percentiles compare Maharishi International University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Iowa.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate92236%
- Graduate1,67064%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women48753%
- Men43547%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White39%
- Black7.4%
- Hispanic10%
- Asian1.4%
- Other or multiracial42%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 922
- Graduate enrollment
- 1,670
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 57%
- First-generation students
- 34%
- Students over 25
- 75%
- Median family income
- $8,040
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $41,238
- Endowment
- $12,113,000
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 95.7%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $16,530
- Room & board
- $7,400
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
- Total cost of attendance
- $27,892
- Average net price
- $14,956
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 50%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 39%
- First-year retention
- 61%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $26,468
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $27,981
- Median debt at graduation
- $24,781
- Students with federal loans
- 65%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 41%
About 11% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 906
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 98%
- Housing charge (year)
- $3,400
- Meal plan (year)
- $4,000
- Application fee
- $20
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 2
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 6
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (2,592 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$14,066/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 90% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,058. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 20 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $27,981
- Typical debt at graduation
- $24,781
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 89%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 37%
Typical debt would take roughly 8.9 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $3,737 (14%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 84°F
- Winter low
- 14°F
- Annual rain
- 38.4″
- Annual snow
- 21.7″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Fairfield, IA US station (0.7 mi from campus).
What Maharishi International University graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Maharishi International University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Maharishi International University side by side →
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- SAT
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Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














