Public · University

Metropolitan State University

Saint Paul, Minnesota · Large city

98.7%
Admit rate
$16,863
Avg net price
44%
Graduation rate
$64,705
Median earnings

Metropolitan State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Saint Paul, Minnesota (large city setting), enrolling 5,616 undergraduates.

PublicMidsize · 5,616 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 99% admitCold wintersSnowy

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Metropolitan State University's admitted students.

Admit rate
98.7%
ACT (mid 50%)
16–21
Avg GPA (est.)
2.92

Enter a test score to see where you land against Metropolitan State University's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Metropolitan State University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. From the early 17th century to 1837, the Mdewakanton Dakota, a band of the Dakota people, lived near the mounds at the village of Kaposia and consider the area encompassing present-day Saint Paul Bdóte, the site of creation for their people. Every January, Saint Paul hosts the Saint Paul Winter Carnival, a tradition that began in 1886 when a New York reporter called Saint Paul "another Siberia". The organizers had a model in the Montreal Winter Carnival the year before. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Large city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
131 miles
Nearest airport
9 miles to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain Field (MSP) · major hub

How Metropolitan State University compares

Selectivity98.7%

More selective than 6% · #34 most selective of 35 in Minnesota

SAT average1020

Higher than 10%

Graduation rate44%

Higher than 29% · #35 of 39 in Minnesota

First-year retention68%

Higher than 25%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$64,705

Higher than 77% · #9 of 38 in Minnesota

Average net price$16,863

Cheaper than 64% · #10 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$17,100

Lower than 86%

Student–faculty ratio15 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment5,616

Larger than 80%

Percentiles compare Metropolitan State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

6,372students
  • Undergraduate5,61688%
  • Graduate75612%

Undergraduates by gender

5,616undergrads
  • Women3,41861%
  • Men2,19839%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White33%
  • Black35%
  • Hispanic8.2%
  • Asian16%
  • Other or multiracial7.5%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
5,616
Graduate enrollment
756
Student–faculty ratio
15 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
48%
First-generation students
37%
Students over 25
54%
Median family income
$28,315
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$102,024
Endowment
$9,735,000

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
98.7%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
1020
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite
16–21
Average GPA (estimated)
2.92

Cost

In-state tuition
$9,840
Room & board
Books & supplies
$1,500
Total cost of attendance
$25,172
Average net price
$16,863

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)
44%
Graduated on time (4 years)
27%
First-year retention
68%
Transferred to another college
36%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$54,828
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$64,705
Median debt at graduation
$17,100
Students with federal loans
31%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
50%

About 16% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
27%
Low-income (Pell)
47%
First-generation
47%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
No
Application fee
Free

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
0.9 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
6
Property offenses (2022–2024)
13

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 5 campuses (6,660 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.

6.3reported offenses a year
2.0 violent a year4.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
3.0
Burglary
1.0
Aggravated assault
1.0
Robbery
0.7
Arson
0.3
Rape
0.3

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.

< $30k
$15,238
$30–48k
$16,656
$48–75k
$16,659
$75–110k
$18,994
$110k+
$21,905

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.

Est. total to a degree
$76,059

$16,659/year × about 4.6 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.

5%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$2,774
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 5% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $2,774. 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 101 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)
$64,705
Typical debt at graduation
$17,100
Debt vs. one year's pay
26%
Out-earn a HS grad
76%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.6 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.

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.

Women
$62,420
Men
$68,583

Men out-earn women by $6,163 (10%) 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
83°F
Winter low
9°F
Annual rain
29.2″
Annual snow
40.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.34.6JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, ST Paul Downtown AP, MN US station (2 mi from campus).

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 Metropolitan State University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Metropolitan State University side by side →

Colleges near Metropolitan State University

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.