Public · University
Saint Cloud State University
Saint Cloud, Minnesota · Small city
- 94.8%
- Admit rate
- $13,529
- Avg net price
- 40%
- Graduation rate
- $55,813
- Median earnings
Saint Cloud State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Saint Cloud, Minnesota (small city setting), enrolling 5,088 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Saint Cloud State University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 94.8%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1025–1260
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.12
Enter a test score to see where you land against Saint Cloud State University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Saint Cloud State University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Saint Cloud, Minnesota
St. Cloud or Saint Cloud is a city in Stearns County, Minnesota, United States. The Minnesota Territory was organized in 1849. The St. Cloud area opened up to homesteading after the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux was signed with the Dakota people in 1851. St. Cloud is home to a variety of notable sites and institutions that reflect its cultural and recreational significance. The St. Cloud Area Convention and Visitors Bureau promotes an area events calendar, dining and lodging information. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 59 miles to Minneapolis, MN
- To Great Lakes shore
- 129 miles
- Nearest airport
- 5 miles to Saint Cloud (STC)
How Saint Cloud State University compares
More selective than 14% · #33 most selective of 35 in Minnesota
Higher than 29%
Higher than 23% · #36 of 39 in Minnesota
Higher than 32%
Higher than 56% · #23 of 38 in Minnesota
Cheaper than 78% · #4 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota
Lower than 66%
Lower than 18%
Larger than 78%
Percentiles compare Saint Cloud 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
- Undergraduate5,08872%
- Graduate1,99428%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2,79755%
- Men2,29145%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White59%
- Black13%
- Hispanic5.3%
- Asian4.2%
- Other or multiracial19%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 5,088
- Graduate enrollment
- 1,994
- Student–faculty ratio
- 18 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 22%
- First-generation students
- 27%
- Students over 25
- 13%
- Median family income
- $51,641
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $106,767
- Endowment
- $47,158,000
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 94.8%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1025–1260
- SAT average
- 1092
- SAT reading
- 510–615
- SAT math
- 515–645
- ACT composite
- 17–25
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.12
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $10,245
- Room & board
- $10,596
- Books & supplies
- $1,400
- Total cost of attendance
- $21,116
- Average net price
- $13,529
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)
- 40%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 25%
- First-year retention
- 71%
- Transferred to another college
- 34%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $47,215
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $55,813
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,058
- Students with federal loans
- 24%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 62%
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 1,116
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 22%
- Housing charge (year)
- $5,980
- Meal plan (year)
- $3,650
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NCAA Division II without football
- Varsity athletes
- 420 (201 men · 219 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 (10)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.6 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 12
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 7
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 3 campuses (10,732 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.
$12,034/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: 52% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,340. 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 736 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)
- $55,813
- Typical debt at graduation
- $21,058
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 38%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 70%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.8 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
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 $10,620 (21%) 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
- 82°F
- Winter low
- 3°F
- Annual rain
- 28.5″
- Annual snow
- 47.9″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, ST Cloud Rgnl AP, MN US station (4.9 mi from campus).
What Saint Cloud 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 Saint Cloud State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Saint Cloud State University side by side →
The University of Texas at Tyler
Tyler, Texas · Midsize city · 89 mi to Shreveport
- Students
- 7,440
- Admission
- 94%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1114
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $57k
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
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
University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Oshkosh, Wisconsin · Small city · 43 mi to Green Bay
- Students
- 6,877
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1090
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $56k
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa · Small city · 55 mi to Cedar Rapids
- Students
- 7,529
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1122
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $55k
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Green Bay, Wisconsin · Midsize city · 5 mi to Green Bay
- Students
- 6,341
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $53k
Colleges near Saint Cloud State University
Model College of Hair Design
Saint Cloud, MN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 199 students
St Cloud Technical and Community College
Saint Cloud, MN · Public · Associate · 3,113 students
Rasmussen University-Minnesota
St. Cloud, MN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 8,617 students
College of Saint Benedict
Saint Joseph, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,370 students
Saint Johns University
Collegeville, MN · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,395 students
Anoka Technical College
Anoka, MN · Public · Certificate · 1,684 students
Anoka-Ramsey Community College
Coon Rapids, MN · Public · Associate · 4,201 students
PCI Academy-Plymouth
Plymouth, MN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 165 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.











