Private nonprofit · College
Rust College
Holly Springs, Mississippi · Distant town
- 48.7%
- Admit rate
- $12,587
- Avg net price
- 12%
- Graduation rate
- $32,275
- Median earnings
Rust College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Holly Springs, Mississippi (distant town setting), enrolling 467 undergraduates. It is a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). It has a United Methodist religious affiliation.
About Holly Springs, Mississippi
Holly Springs is a city in and the county seat of Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the border with Tennessee to the north. European Americans founded Holly Springs in 1836 on territory occupied by the Chickasaw people for centuries before Indian Removal. Most of their land was ceded under the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek of 1832. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant town
- Highest degree offered
- Bachelor's
- Nearest big city
- 43 miles to Memphis, TN
- To the ocean
- 291 miles
- Nearest airport
- 35 miles to Memphis (MEM) · major hub
How Rust College compares
More selective than 85% · #4 most selective of 15 in Mississippi
Higher than 3% · #15 of 16 in Mississippi
Higher than 74%
Higher than 4% · #15 of 16 in Mississippi
Cheaper than 83% · #3 cheapest of 15 in Mississippi
Lower than 21%
Lower than 76%
Larger than 21%
Percentiles compare Rust College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Mississippi.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women26757%
- Men20043%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White0.6%
- Black92%
- Hispanic1.9%
- Other or multiracial5.4%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 467
- Student–faculty ratio
- 10 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 71%
- First-generation students
- 46%
- Students over 25
- 21%
- Median family income
- $15,801
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $45,864
- Endowment
- $55,371,694
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 48.7%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $13,265
- Room & board
- $6,217
- Books & supplies
- $1,150
- Total cost of attendance
- $23,107
- Average net price
- $12,587
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)
- 12%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 9%
- First-year retention
- 84%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $25,641
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,275
- Median debt at graduation
- $26,159
- Students with federal loans
- 70%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 18%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 800
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 100%+
- Application fee
- $10
- Athletics
- NAIA Division I
- Varsity athletes
- 238 (134 men · 104 women)
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%.
Varsity sports (7)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- D
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 10.7 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 9
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 6
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (467 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.
$13,878/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: 67% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,882. 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 137 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)
- $32,275
- Typical debt at graduation
- $26,159
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 81%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 25%
Typical debt would take roughly 8.1 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 $2,350 (7%) 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
- 90°F
- Winter low
- 29°F
- Annual rain
- 58.2″
- Annual snow
- 2.3″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Holly Springs 4 N, MS US station (3.2 mi from campus).
What Rust College 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 Rust College
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Rust College side by side →
Paul Quinn College
Dallas, Texas · Large city · 7 mi to Dallas
- Students
- 620
- Admission
- 40%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $29k
Livingstone College
Salisbury, North Carolina · Large suburb · 33 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 924
- Admission
- 59%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $33k
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo, Mississippi · Midsize city · 7 mi to Jackson
- Students
- 639
- Admission
- 60%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $35k
Stillman College
Tuscaloosa, Alabama · Midsize city · 50 mi to Birmingham
- Students
- 706
- Admission
- 62%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $35k
Hallmark University
San Antonio, Texas · Large city · 12 mi to San Antonio
- Students
- 769
- Admission
- 51%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $40k
Carolina University
Winston-Salem, North Carolina · Large city · 1 mi to Winston-Salem
- Students
- 460
- Admission
- 40%
- Net price
- $21k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $33k
Colleges near Rust College
Blue Mountain Christian University
Blue Mountain, MS · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 498 students
Fosters Cosmetology College
Ripley, MS · Private for-profit · Certificate · 23 students
University of Mississippi
University, MS · Public · Bachelor's · 21,473 students
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Senatobia, MS · Public · Associate · 5,452 students
Gould's Academy
Memphis, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 148 students
Mid-South Christian College
Memphis, TN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 19 students
Strayer University-Tennessee
Nashville, TN · Private for-profit · Bachelor's · 1,784 students
Health-Tech Institute of Memphis
Memphis, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 8 students
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.










