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.
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
- Nearest big city
- 9 miles to Minneapolis, MN
- 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
More selective than 6% · #34 most selective of 35 in Minnesota
Higher than 10%
Higher than 29% · #35 of 39 in Minnesota
Higher than 25%
Higher than 77% · #9 of 38 in Minnesota
Cheaper than 64% · #10 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota
Lower than 86%
Lower than 35%
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
- Undergraduate5,61688%
- Graduate75612%
Undergraduates by gender
- 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)
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.
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.
$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.
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.
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.
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
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, ST Paul Downtown AP, MN US station (2 mi from campus).
What Metropolitan State 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 Metropolitan State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Metropolitan State University side by side →
University of Houston-Clear Lake
Houston, Texas · Midsize city · 20 mi to Houston
- Students
- 6,078
- Admission
- 91%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1060
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $59k
The University of Texas Permian Basin
Odessa, Texas · Midsize city · 17 mi to Midland
- Students
- 3,911
- Admission
- 95%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1033
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $56k
East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania · Fringe town · 31 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 4,814
- Admission
- 92%
- Net price
- $18k
- SAT
- 1084
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $56k
Radford University
Radford, Virginia · Fringe town · 35 mi to Roanoke
- Students
- 6,038
- Admission
- 90%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1060
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $54k
Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, Minnesota · Small city · 59 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 5,088
- Admission
- 95%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1092
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $56k
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, Illinois · Large suburb · 16 mi to St. Louis
- Students
- 8,750
- Admission
- 98%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1100
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $56k
Colleges near Metropolitan State University
Saint Paul College
Saint Paul, MN · Public · Certificate · 3,813 students
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Diverse Media Institute
St. Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 8 students
Concordia University-Saint Paul
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,018 students
Townsend Barber Institute
Roseville, MN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 32 students
Hamline University
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,776 students
Macalester College
Saint Paul, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,131 students
American Academy of Health and Wellness
Roseville, MN · Private for-profit · Graduate
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.














