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Simpson College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

24 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
86% Acceptance Rate

Simpson College is a private not-for-profit institution in Indianola, Iowa enrolling 1,227 undergraduates. It accepts 86% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 63%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #579 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 11%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is Simpson College Ranked?

Simpson College ranks #579 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 11%.

#579 Best Colleges in Nation
#8 Best Colleges in IA
Simpson College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

College Factual recognizes the best colleges and universities in its annual rankings. These rankings include categories for best overall colleges, best colleges for each major, best value schools, and much more.

Simpson College was awarded 24 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

College Factual ranked Simpson College as #579 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list. This puts it in the top 20% of all schools in the nation.

Simpson College also holds the #8 spot on the Best Colleges in Iowa ranking.

See all of the rankings for Simpson College.

Is It Hard to Get Into Simpson College?

86% Acceptance Rate
88% Of Accepted Are Women

Acceptance Rate

Simpson College has an acceptance rate of 86%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for Simpson College.

Average Test Scores

Simpson College received ACT scores from 2% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 31 and 33.

ACT Composite Scores for Simpson College  ( 31 to 33 )
1
36

Learn more about Simpson College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at Simpson College?

12 to 1 Student to Faculty
52% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

At Simpson College, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 12 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Simpson College is 52%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  52 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at Simpson College?

81% Freshmen Retention
63% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

Simpson College has a freshmen retention rate of 81%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  81 out of 100
0
100

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Simpson College for first-time, full-time students is 63%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  63 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Simpson College.

How Diverse Is Simpson College?

1,227 Undergraduate Students
23.6% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
49.2% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 1,227 undergraduates at Simpson College.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Simpson College.

How Much Does Simpson College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
71% Take Out Loans
$25,604 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at Simpson College is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for Simpson College

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$17,941 $15,764 $19,176 $22,468 $26,586

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Simpson College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Simpson College, approximately 71% of students took out student loans averaging $6,401 a year. That adds up to $25,604 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 2.1%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Simpson College.

How Much Do Simpson College Graduates Earn?

$59,274 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Simpson College make around $59,274 per year during the early years of their employment. This is good news for future Simpson College graduates since it is 20% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Average Salary for Simpson College Graduates

See which majors at Simpson College make the most money.

Where Is Simpson College Located?

Iowa State
1,227 Undergraduate Students
Town Campus Setting

Simpson College is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Indianola, Iowa. The surrounding location of Indianola is ideal for students who enjoy the charms of a college town. Get more details about the location of Simpson College.

Location of Simpson College

Contact details for Simpson College are listed below.

Contact Details
Address: 701 North C St, Indianola, IA 50125
Phone: 5159616251
Website: www.simpson.edu
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simpson_College
Facebook: www.facebook.com/SimpsonCollege
Twitter: twitter.com/simpsoncollege

What Majors Does Simpson College Offer?

22 Majors With Completions
704 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 22 majors graduated from Simpson College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 352 NA
Health Sciences & Services 32 NA
Business Administration & Management 30 $44,866
Teacher Education Grade Specific 28 $37,249
Health & Physical Education 24 $37,401
Criminal Justice & Corrections 17 $40,370
Public Relations & Advertising 15 $38,322
General Psychology 14 $31,991
General Biology 13 NA
Political Science & Government 13 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at Simpson College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does Simpson College Offer Online Classes?

20% Take At Least One Class Online
3% Take All Classes Online

240 students took at least one online class at Simpson College.

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

Learn more about online learning at Simpson College.

Interested in comparing Simpson College? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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