Private nonprofit · College

Stephens College

Columbia, Missouri · Midsize city

77.2%
Admit rate
$23,459
Avg net price
43%
Graduation rate
$43,071
Median earnings

Stephens College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Columbia, Missouri (midsize city setting), enrolling 391 undergraduates. It is a women's college.

Private nonprofitSmall · 391 undergradsMidsize cityAccessible · 77% admitNAIA Division ICold winters

About Columbia, Missouri

Columbia is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States, and its county seat. Columbia's origins begin with the settlement of American pioneers from Kentucky and Virginia in an early 1800s region known as the Boonslick. The Missouri Theatre Center for the Arts and Jesse Auditorium are Columbia's largest fine arts venues. Ragtag Cinema annually hosts the True/False Film Festival. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
Nearest big city
1 mile to Columbia, MO
To Great Lakes shore
317 miles
Nearest airport
11 miles to Columbia (COU)

How Stephens College compares

Selectivity77.2%

More selective than 50% · #26 most selective of 44 in Missouri

Graduation rate43%

Higher than 27% · #39 of 51 in Missouri

First-year retention78%

Higher than 57%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$43,071

Higher than 19% · #37 of 53 in Missouri

Average net price$23,459

Cheaper than 34% · #41 cheapest of 51 in Missouri

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio8 : 1

Lower than 89%

Undergraduate enrollment391

Larger than 18%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

567students
  • Undergraduate39169%
  • Graduate17631%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White49%
  • Black8.4%
  • Hispanic1.0%
  • Asian1.5%
  • Other or multiracial40%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
391
Graduate enrollment
176
Student–faculty ratio
8 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
45%
First-generation students
31%
Students over 25
11%
Median family income
$40,725
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$70,020
Endowment
$58,198,157

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

Admissions

Admission rate
77.2%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$28,300
Room & board
$13,366
Books & supplies
$1,240
Total cost of attendance
$46,643
Average net price
$23,459

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)
43%
Graduated on time (4 years)
18%
First-year retention
78%
Transferred to another college
39%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$36,778
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$43,071
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
62%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
53%

About 25% 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
18%
Low-income (Pell)
47%
First-generation
45%

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
327
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
84%
Housing charge (year)
$5,510
Meal plan (year)
$4,950
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NAIA Division I
Varsity athletes
77 (0 men · 77 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 (4)

Volleyball24
Soccer20
Softball18
Basketball15

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.4 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
3
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (568 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.

1.3reported offenses a year
1.0 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.3
Fondling
0.3
Aggravated assault
0.3
Burglary
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
$9,918
$30–48k
$14,796
$48–75k
$18,547
$75–110k
$25,644
$110k+
$29,787

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
$90,324

$18,547/year × about 4.9 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.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$16,227
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 100% — get grant money from Stephens College itself, averaging $16,227, which softens the sticker price.

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 72 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)
$43,071
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
63%
Out-earn a HS grad
56%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

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.

Campus climate

Summer high
89°F
Winter low
22°F
Annual rain
44.8″
Annual snow
17.4″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.2JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Columbia U OF M, MO US station (0.7 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 Stephens College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Stephens College side by side →

Colleges near Stephens College

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.