by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending McPherson College, from the published cost of attendance and projected degree cost through to net price, median student debt at graduation, default outcomes, and how aid varies by family income.
Jump to any section of this page using the links below:
What it costs to attend McPherson College works out to about $48,404.00 per academic year.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $37,310.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $11,094.00 |
| Total cost | $48,404.00 |
| That is 48% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $48,404.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$24,170.00 |
| Net price | $24,234.00 |
| That is 26% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $48,404.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$28,024.00 |
| Net price | $20,380.00 |
| That is 38% below the national average net price. | |
| For the full breakdown, see tuition and fees plus living costs. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years by around 4.8% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. The tables below project the cost forward across a full degree, side by side for a low-income student with aid, a typical student with average aid, and a student paying full sticker price with no aid. The loan rows amortise the projected total over a ten-year, 6.8% repayment.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Freshman year | $21,361.00 | $25,400.00 | $50,734.00 |
| Senior year | $24,596.00 | $29,247.00 | $58,417.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $91,812.00 | $109,174.00 | $218,060.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $34,977.00 | $41,591.00 | $83,073.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,057.00 | $1,256.00 | $2,509.00 |
| Total amount paid | $126,789.00 | $150,765.00 | $301,132.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.8% | 4.8% | 4.8% |
| Freshman year | $21,361.00 | $25,400.00 | $50,734.00 |
| Senior year | $22,389.00 | $26,623.00 | $53,175.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $43,750.00 | $52,023.00 | $103,909.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $16,667.00 | $19,819.00 | $39,585.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $503.00 | $599.00 | $1,196.00 |
| Total amount paid | $60,417.00 | $71,842.00 | $143,494.00 |
Read more in the net-price section.
The net price is the real out-of-pocket cost — what families pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $26,441.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $24,837.00 |
The real cost varies by income because need-based aid scales with financial need. The breakdown below splits average net price across income brackets:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $20,869.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $21,172.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $25,387.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $27,314.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $28,232.00 |
Estimate your specific net price using the school’s McPherson College Net Price Calculator, or visit the financial aid office.
Curious how grants and scholarships are distributed? Explore the financial aid breakdown.
The typical debt load for borrowers leaving McPherson College stands at $13,833.00, landing it in the Low ($10-20k) debt-burden bucket.
The percentile spread of debt at graduation is shown below:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,500.00 |
| 25th | $6,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $13,833.00 |
| 75th | $26,596.00 |
| 90th | $36,000.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student loan debt page.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. Below, debt is broken out by low, middle, and high family income:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,375.00 |
| Middle income | $14,521.00 |
| High income | $14,000.00 |
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,250.00 |
First-generation graduates from McPherson College take on $1,750.00 in extra median debt compared with continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the largest source of federal need-based aid for undergrads. The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap reveals how borrowing differs by need.
The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap at McPherson College is $1,500.00. This institution is flagged by federal data for Pell-debt inequity.
The default-rate classification at McPherson College is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 6.5% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at McPherson College add up to $59,022,196.00 distributed across 3,728 recipients.
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for substantial federal education benefits including the GI Bill and Department of Defense tuition support.
| GI Bill recipients | 6 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $17,573.00 |
For the full rundown of veteran and military benefits, see the veterans benefits detail.
Beyond the data above, it helps to ask a few questions when weighing McPherson College, consider the following:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.