Stephens College
Columbia, MO · Private · Midsize city · Stephens
Private institution in Columbia, MO · 353 undergraduates · 92% acceptance rate · $43,071 median earnings 10 years after entry.
- Top 7%Student-faculty ratio
Stats
College Scorecard figures, each with where this school sits nationally among institutions that report the same measure. A dash means the school does not report it.
Cost
- Average net price
- $23,2771,350th cheapest of 1,969 reporting
- In-state tuition & fees
- $28,2001,291st cheapest of 2,024 reporting
- Out-of-state tuition & fees
- $28,2001,174th cheapest of 2,024 reporting
- Cost of attendance
- $42,6941,272nd cheapest of 1,969 reporting
- Median graduate debt
- $27,0001,593rd lowest of 1,865 reporting
Outcomes
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $43,0711,462nd highest of 1,954 reporting
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $36,7781,430th highest of 1,950 reporting
- Graduation rate (4-year)
- 46.5%1,285th highest of 2,014 reporting
- Full-time retention
- 71.0%1,180th highest of 1,837 reporting
Admissions
- Acceptance rate
- 91.5%1,282nd most selective of 1,596 reporting
- Average SAT
- 1104672nd highest of 1,022 reporting
- Median ACT
- 21701st highest of 952 reporting
Campus
- Undergraduates
- 3531,759th largest of 2,144 reporting
- Student-faculty ratio
- 7.0:1144th smallest of 2,141 reporting
- Pell Grant share
- 41.7%636th highest of 2,122 reporting
Nearest large-hub airport: 310 mi (MDW)
List appearances
This school doesn’t place in the top slice of any of our 111 lists. Most lists are Top 25–50, so absence here is common and says little on its own.
Applying
- Common App member
- Yes
- Application fee
- Free
- Personal essay
- Optional / not required
- Writing supplement
- No
Deadlines and essay flags come from the Common App Requirements Grid, joined by school name. Always confirm against the school’s own admissions page before applying.
Best-paying fields of study
Median earnings one and two years after graduating, by field. Showing 12 of 25 reported programs.
| Field | Level | 1 yr | 2 yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health and Medical Administrative ServicesHealth Professions | bachelors | $52,107 | $54,035 |
| MarketingBusiness | bachelors | $33,993 | $33,993 |
| Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing OperationsBusiness | bachelors | $29,685 | $27,947 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | $20,921 | $21,052 |
| Agricultural and Domestic Animal ServicesAgriculture | bachelors | — | $24,035 |
| Apparel and TextilesFamily & Consumer Sciences | bachelors | — | — |
| Arts, Entertainment,and Media ManagementVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | — | — |
| Biology, GeneralBiological Sciences | bachelors | — | — |
| Business Administration, Management and OperationsBusiness | bachelors | — | — |
| Communication and Media StudiesCommunications | bachelors | — | — |
| DanceVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | — | — |
| Design and Applied ArtsVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | — | $26,933 |
Campus facts
- A women's collegesource
- Founded in 1833source
- School colors: Maroon and Goldsource
- Athletic nickname: "Stars"source
- Campus size: about 86 acressource
- Formerly known as "Columbia Female Academy" (1833–1856)source
- Formerly known as "Columbia Female Baptist Academy" (1856–1870)source
- Athletic conference: NAIAsource
- Notable alum: Elizabeth Mitchellsource
- Notable alum: Jennifer Tillysource
- Notable alum: Stephanie Beatrizsource
- Notable alum: Annie Pottssource
- Notable alum: Jeane Kirkpatricksource
Athletics — 4 sports
NAIA Division I · NAIA
Athletic scholarships allowed · Athletic aid $1,208,439 (M $0 · W $1,208,439)
Self-reported EADA participants (2024-2025). Athletic aid is institution-level, not per sport.
Similar-size colleges
Nearest undergraduate enrollment to Stephens College’s 353 (College Scorecard UGDS, compiled 2026-10-24). Size only — not a judgment of similarity or quality.
In MO
- Mission UniversitySpringfield, MO · 342 undergrads
- Hannibal-LaGrange UniversityHannibal, MO · 381 undergrads
- St Louis College of Health Careers-FentonFenton, MO · 401 undergrads
- Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of NursingSaint Louis, MO · 426 undergrads
- University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. LouisSaint Louis, MO · 274 undergrads
- Cottey CollegeNevada, MO · 266 undergrads
Elsewhere
- Talmudical Seminary Oholei TorahBrooklyn, NY · 353 undergrads
- Valor Christian CollegeCanal Winchester, OH · 352 undergrads
- Alliant International University-San DiegoSan Diego, CA · 355 undergrads
- Southwestern Christian UniversityBethany, OK · 351 undergrads
- College of the AtlanticBar Harbor, ME · 358 undergrads
- Pacific Oaks CollegePasadena, CA · 346 undergrads
Key links
- Official websitestephens.edu
- College ScorecardFederal source for every figure above (UNITID 179548)
- Compare colleges in MORe-score with your weights
- The Most Selective Colleges in MissouriEvery eligible four-year in this state, ranked by published admission rate
- Compare with Mission UniversitySide by side on every Scorecard measure — closest in-state school by enrollment
- Showdown: Stephens College vs Mission UniversityHigher-or-lower on real Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Sports directoryAll 4 EADA programs at this school
- Build an admissions plan8th–12th grade actions for this college — sports, activities, timeline
- MethodologyWhat these figures do and do not capture
- How to read a school page end to endStats, standings, lists, athletics, news — one profile, many jobs. Know which panel answers which question.
- Sticker price is a trapPublished tuition is a starting rumor. Net price is closer to what families actually pay.
- What acceptance rate actually measuresSelectivity is a competition statistic — not a quality score, and not your personal odds.
- A plan from eighth grade — without fake certaintySchool-anchored milestones, sports scarcity honesty, and EC playbooks — not invented admit odds.