by our College Data Analytics TeamSouthwest Minnesota State University is a public institution in Marshall, Minnesota enrolling 2,315 undergraduates. It accepts 62% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 45%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,303 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 25%), 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.
Southwest Minnesota State University ranks #1,303 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 25%.
College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.
Southwest Minnesota State University was awarded 12 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Southwest Minnesota State University is ranked #1,303 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
Southwest Minnesota State University also holds the #45 spot on the Best Colleges in Minnesota ranking.
See all of the rankings for Southwest Minnesota State University.
Southwest Minnesota State University has an acceptance rate of 62%, which means the school is serious about who it admits. Take your time in putting together a strong application that highlights why you are a good fit for Southwest Minnesota State University.
Southwest Minnesota State University received ACT scores from 40% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 16 and 23.
Learn more about Southwest Minnesota State University admissions.
The student to faculty ratio at Southwest Minnesota State University is about average at 16 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Southwest Minnesota State University is 52%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 74% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Southwest Minnesota State University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At Southwest Minnesota State University the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 45%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Southwest Minnesota State University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 2,315 undergraduates at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Southwest Minnesota State University.
The overall average net price of Southwest Minnesota State University 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,559 | $11,175 | $13,153 | $18,283 | $20,701 |
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 Southwest Minnesota State University, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
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 Southwest Minnesota State University, approximately 15% of students took out student loans averaging $6,873 a year. That adds up to $27,492 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 5.4%. 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 Southwest Minnesota State University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Southwest Minnesota State University make around $51,342 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at Southwest Minnesota State University make the most money.
Southwest Minnesota State University is an public institution located in Marshall, Minnesota. Marshall is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Southwest Minnesota State University.
Contact details for Southwest Minnesota State University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 1501 State St, Marshall, MN 56258-5468 |
| Phone: | 5075377678 |
| Website: | www.smsu.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Minnesota_State_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/SMSUToday |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/smsutoday |
During the most recent year for which we have data, students from 22 majors graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University. 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 | 688 | NA |
| General Education | 105 | $47,888 |
| Business Administration & Management | 95 | $43,022 |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 60 | $37,319 |
| Nursing | 58 | $63,193 |
| Health & Physical Education | 40 | $30,486 |
| Social Work | 38 | $33,078 |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 36 | $52,562 |
| Special Education | 29 | NA |
| General Psychology | 23 | $35,969 |
1,743 students took at least one online class at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at Southwest Minnesota State University.
Curious how schools stack up against Southwest Minnesota State University? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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
More about our data sources and methodologies.