Southwestern College vs. Missouri Southern

Southwestern College vs. Missouri Southern State University comparison

	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern State University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Location	Winfield, KS	Joplin, MO
Setting	Distant Town	Small City
Enrollment	1,139	4,090
Type	Private 4 Year	Public 4 Year
National Ranking	#517	#921
Religious Affiliation	United Methodist	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	sckans.edu	mssu.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Tuition (In State)	$38,330	$8,400
Tuition (Out of State)	$38,330	$16,800
Room & Board	$11,356	$7,172
Avg Net Price	$27,337	$11,264
Avg Grant Aid	$26,433	$7,514
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	91%

Admission	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	1,333	2,302
Admitted	866	2,243
Acceptance Rate	65%	97.4%
Enrolled %	23.6%	25.8%
Avg High School GPA	3.33	3.5
Typical High School Grades	B+	B+
Admissions Standards	Very Easy	Very Easy
Applicant Competition	Low
ACT Range	17/22	18/24
SAT Range	900/1220	1000/1170
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not required for admission, but considered if submitted (Test Optional)
Application Deadline	Aug 22, 2026

Academics	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Student to Faculty Ratio	11:1	16:1
Popular Majors	Business (44%) Education (12%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (11%) Computer and Information Sciences (10%) Health Professions (4%)	Business (19%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (16%) Health Professions (15%) Education (13%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (8%)
Outcomes	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Graduation Rate	57%	33%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$53,100	$36,600
Making Student Loan Payments	57%	53%
Median Student Loan Debt	$25,750	$20,831
Median Loan Payment	$266	$215

Diversity	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
% Men	6%	1%
% Women	3%	3%
Racial Diversity	High	Low
HBCU	No	No
% White	54%	77%
% Black	12%	6%
% Hispanic	8%	5%
% Native American	2%	3%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	3%	1%
% International	5%	3%
% Unknown Race	15%	3%

Students	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
% In-State	28%	67%
% Out-of-State	70%	27%
Campus	Southwestern College	Missouri Southern
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	Yes
Daycare Facility	No	Yes
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Missouri Southern State University is larger than than Southwestern College based on total student enrollment (4,090 students vs. 1,139 students)

Southwestern College vs. Missouri Southern Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Southwestern College or Missouri Southern?

• Southwestern College is 356.3% more expensive to attend than Missouri Southern for in-state tuition ($38,330.00 vs. $8,400.00)
• Out of state tuition is 128.2% higher at Southwestern College than Missouri Southern State University ($38,330.00 vs. $16,800.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Missouri Southern State University than Southwestern College ($11,264 vs. $27,337)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Missouri Southern State University are 58.3% lower than costs at Southwestern College ($7,172 vs. $11,356)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Southwestern College than Missouri Southern State University (100% vs. 91%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Southwestern College students is 251.8% larger than aid received Missouri Southern State University ($26,433 vs. $7,514)

Southwestern College vs. Missouri Southern Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, Southwestern College or Missouri Southern? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between Missouri Southern or Southwestern College .

• The average SAT score at Missouri Southern State University (1030) is 31 points higher than at Southwestern College (999)
• Incoming Southwestern College students have at the same average ACT score (22) as students at Missouri Southern (22)
• Accepted freshman Missouri Southern students have a 0.17 point higher average high school GPA (3.5) than students at Southwestern College (3.33)
• Missouri Southern has a higher acceptance rate (97.4%) than Southwestern College (65%)

Southwestern College vs. Missouri Southern Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Southwestern College or Missouri Southern? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between Missouri Southern and Southwestern College.

• The graduation rate at Southwestern College is higher than Missouri Southern State University (57% vs. 33%)
• Graduates from Southwestern College earn on average $16,500 more per year than Missouri Southern graduates after ten years. ($53,100 vs. $36,600)
• Missouri Southern State University students graduate with a $4,919 lower median federal student loan debt than Southwestern College graduates. ($20,831 vs. $25,750)
• Missouri Southern graduates are paying $51 less per month on federal student loans than Southwestern College graduates. ($215 vs. $266)
• More Southwestern College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former Missouri Southern students, three years after graduation. (57% vs. 53%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/