Stephens College
Columbia, Missouri · Private Nonprofit · 77.2% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 20/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Stephens College, a small (391 students) private liberal arts and performing arts college in Columbia, Missouri with strong historical roots as a women's college, scores 20 (Below Benchmark tier). The financial picture is genuinely difficult: sticker tuition of $28,300, average net price of $23,459 (modest discounting), and four-year cost of $93,836. Average earnings six years out are $33,600, climbing slowly to a median $43,071 by year ten - a flat earnings curve reflecting the school's heavy concentration in performing arts, theater, and creative disciplines. Median federal debt is $27,000, and the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.80 (sub-score 15) is concerning. The 29-year payback period (sub-score 18) is long. Completion rate of 42.7% (sub-score 25) is weak. Three-year repayment rate of 71.4% is mediocre. The honest read: Stephens preserves a distinctive women-focused (formally co-ed since 2022) educational mission with strong fashion design, theater, and equestrian programs, but the labor-market outcomes for those disciplines combined with high cost produce a structurally difficult ROI. Students choosing Stephens are buying institutional culture and specialized arts training; they should expect long payback timelines and plan accordingly. The two reported programs (drama and health admin) both grade F, which signals the institutional outcomes problem clearly.
How Stephens College scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score20/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Payback period29 years - The median payback across the schools we score is about 12 years.
Stephens College
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $28,300/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $28,300/yr |
| Average net price | $23,459/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $93,836 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $43,071 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $33,600 |
| Median debt at graduation | $27,000 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $286 |
| Estimated payback period | 29 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 42.7% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 391 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $28,300/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $23,459/year, or roughly $93,836 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $9,918/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $29,787/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $27,000, which works out to about $286 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($33,600) and comes to 0.80, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $9,918 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $14,796 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $18,547 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $25,644 |
| $110,001+ | $29,787 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning under $30,000 pay $9,918 net annually, totaling about $39,672 over four years - a real value for Pell-eligible students. The risk is the 42.7% completion rate combined with weak post-graduation earnings; even with the discount, students who don't finish or who enter low-wage creative fields face difficult math.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Middle-income families ($48,001-$75,000) pay $18,547 per year, about $74,188 over four years. The aid drop-off from the lower brackets is steep, and middle-income families absorb a meaningful cost increase without proportionate earnings benefit on the back end.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
High-income families ($110,001+) pay $29,787 per year, totaling $119,148 across four years - exceeding the published sticker tuition because room/board and fees are included. For high-income families, the cost-to-outcomes ratio is decisively poor unless the student has a clear high-talent creative-arts career trajectory.
Earnings by Major
Top 2 most popular majors at Stephens College with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $35,235 | F |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services | $79,407 | F |
Earnings reflect median 4-year post-completion (or 1-year where 4-year unavailable). Grades based on debt-to-earnings ratio.
Program Analysis
Why these programs deliver their earnings outcomes.
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Health and Medical Administrative Services produces 7 graduates per year with $48,584 starting earnings, $79,407 at 4 years, and an extraordinary $48,781 in median debt - nearly double the school average. The 1.00 debt-to-earnings ratio earns an F grade. Despite reasonable starting earnings and strong 4-year ramp, the debt load is so heavy it produces structural payback failure. This program's debt level is a serious concern.
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Drama/Theatre Arts produces 14 graduates with $16,476 starting earnings, $35,235 at 4 years, $27,000 in median debt, and a 1.64 debt-to-earnings ratio for an F grade. Theater careers are notoriously slow-ramp, and the data shows graduates earning less than half of their initial debt at year one. The earnings curve does improve substantially by year four, but the financial math is structurally difficult unless students have outlier success or pivot to industry-adjacent roles.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 62.8% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 71.4% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 66.4% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 72.5% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Stephens College’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 77.2% |
| Enrollment | 391 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 45.2% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $7,780 |
Stephens admits 77.2% of applicants. SAT and ACT data are not reported, consistent with the school's audition/portfolio-driven admissions for fashion, theater, and creative tracks. The 42.7% completion rate is the central issue - small cohort sizes, financial pressure on a heavily working-class student body (45% Pell), and the specialized nature of the curriculum produce significant attrition. Selectivity is moderate; persistence is the institutional concern.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephens College (this school) | 20 | $23,459 | $43,071 |
| Mary Baldwin University | 25 | $12,756 | $44,427 |
| Wesleyan College | 24 | $12,724 | $44,317 |
| Midway University | 24 | $29,579 | $44,246 |
| Converse University | 21 | $23,283 | $40,867 |
| Hollins University | 21 | $20,896 | $40,075 |
Who Thrives Here
Stephens fits the highly motivated student committed to fashion, theater, equestrian science, or related performing/creative arts disciplines. Pell rate of 45.2% indicates a working-class student body. Enrollment of 391 makes this a very small institution. The fit case is strongest for students with audition-tested talent and clear creative-industry career trajectories who value the school's small-class instruction and preserved women-centered legacy. Students should be deliberate: Stephens is not the right financial choice for someone uncertain about creative-arts career paths, but it provides genuine craft training for those committed.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Stephens College scores 20/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $23,459 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $43,071 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at about 29 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, its 42.7% graduation rate, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.80 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a three-year loan repayment rate of 71.4% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Median debt of $27,000 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $33,600 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.80. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. Your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Stephens College: Common Questions
Is Stephens College worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Stephens College scores 20/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $23,459 a year after aid against $43,071 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at about 29 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Stephens College cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $23,459 a year, or roughly $93,836 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Stephens College graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $43,071 ten years after enrolling, roughly $1,271 a year more than the median high-school graduate ($41,800, per NCES, 2022). That earnings gap is what has to cover the cost of the degree.
How long does it take to pay off Stephens College?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at about 29 years for Stephens College. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Stephens College graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $27,000, against average earnings of $33,600 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.80. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. How much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Stephens College?
The six-year graduation rate is 42.7%. The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
NewsletterCollege decisions are better with data.
From CampusROI, when there is something worth acting on.
Rankings & Links
Guides & Tools
Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.