College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Bethel University (IN)

INSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1148 nationally

Data snapshot Narrative updated

Azimuth places the university overall in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Bethel University is a private nonprofit university in Mishawaka, Indiana, where Health Professions and Business account for the largest shares of degrees. Affordability is above average, while access and mobility are below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn about what predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes a subtraction to the factors it measures and an addition to what it cannot explain.

The raw and adjusted pictures both sit near the expected level. Affordability is above average, and what aid recipients pay on average sits below the median at comparable schools.

The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is modest, and the median federal debt is close to the median at comparable schools. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to Nursing should go in knowing it is both the largest program and the best-paid one.

Bethel University (IN) at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
97.7%
Six-year completion[2]
53.2%
Four-year earnings[3]
$53,289

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,673
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$15,256

Bethel University (IN) rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Bethel University is a private nonprofit university in Mishawaka, Indiana, enrolling 1,008 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the lower quarter of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Bethel University admits 97.7% of applicants, a rate above the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 72.4% return for a second year, against a peer median of 74.2%.

The six-year graduation rate for that cohort is 53.2%, compared with a median of 54.9% at similar schools. An estimated 21.4% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation rate describes a subset of the student body.

The four pillars sit close together, with affordability the strongest and access the weakest. Return and mobility fall in between. No single pillar stands far apart from the others.

Affordability is the clearest positive in Bethel University's four-part profile, but the other measures sit lower. Azimuth places affordability in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the university's strongest pillar.

Return reaches the 36th percentile, while mobility is at the 17th percentile in the same Azimuth cohort. Access, the weakest pillar, is in the 15th percentile. Costs rate better here than return, mobility, and access.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 900 and 1,150. The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores fell between 16 and 24.

33.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Pell recipients complete at 48.4%, which is 4.8 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

For access, Azimuth ranks Bethel University #1,251 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #1,211 among nonprofit four-year institutions, placing it among the Opportunity Builders.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Bethel University (IN) rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,148

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 17
Access & reach
National percentile: 15
Affordability
National percentile: 58
Return on investment
National percentile: 36

01 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

Bethel University (IN) cost & financial aid[6][7]

Bethel University offers a lower average net cost for aid recipients than comparable schools, a relative strength in its price picture. The university’s published cost of attendance is $43,885 (an average across living arrangements), alongside on-campus $34,600 in tuition and fees and $11,140 for room and board.

Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,610, with $25,275 offset from the sticker price on average. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $22,347; Bethel University is below that figure by $3,737.

Azimuth ranks the university #593 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower net price relative to peers and its affordability standing point in the same direction.

Sticker cost at Bethel University is $43,885 (an average across living arrangements), but aid-recipient prices differ across family-income bands. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,580 in the lowest band, $12,572 in the lower-middle band, $12,673 in the middle band, $18,645 in the upper-middle band, and $25,871 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,291. Azimuth ranks the university #593 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 58% of the published cost, an average savings of $25,275 against the sticker price. Tuition and fees are $34,600.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $18,610, which is $3,737 below the peer median of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size). The overall price and average aid offset point in the same direction.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000. It is level with the peer median of $25,000 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

93.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,256.

The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. The Financial GPS tool offers personalized scenarios including Parent PLUS.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,673

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Bethel University (IN)

Borrowers who complete at Bethel University leave with a median of $25,000 in federal student loan debt, a figure that excludes Parent PLUS and private loans. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $25,000.

Bethel’s median is level with the peer median. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,256.

The school’s federal debt level therefore aligns with its peer benchmark, although the figures do not cover every loan type.

The return picture at Bethel University is mixed: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $53,289 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings level in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offer a separate modeled measure. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Azimuth places this measure in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The program-mix scenarios range from $41,191 in the downside case to $75,261 in the upside case, with the typical scenario matching the reported median.

Median federal debt is $25,000, close to the peer median, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Near-expected modeled earnings alongside peer-level debt leave a mixed return picture.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,256. For borrowers with median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

The Financial GPS tool offers personalized family cost analysis based on household costs and borrowing choices.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

Bethel University (IN) career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Affordability is the strongest pillar at Bethel University, yet its return measures give a mixed reading. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,717.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,899. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $53,289, in the 27th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, leaving the university $2,626 below it. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings near the model’s expectation but below the peer median leave the return picture mixed.

Bethel University’s four-year earnings are close to the model’s expectation, though their standing among nonprofit four-year institutions is modest. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $53,289 four years after completion; the earnings cohort includes 477 completers.

Azimuth places that median in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Earnings beyond expectations is the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios from the program mix run from $41,191 in the downside scenario to $75,261 in the upside scenario; the typical scenario matches the institutional median.

An estimated 24.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Earnings are near the model’s expectation, but the broader earnings percentile is modest.

Federally aided graduates of Bethel University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $53,289 four years after completion. That earnings level sits at the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) post a median of $55,915, so the university falls $2,626 below that peer benchmark overall. Azimuth ranks Bethel University #940 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That result falls at the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $1,717. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $1,899.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $82. The program mix centers on nursing, business, education, and pastoral counseling, with smaller showings in teacher education and interdisciplinary studies as well.

Estimated earnings scenarios from that mix run from $41,191 on the downside to $75,261 on the upside. An estimated 24.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary widely across the program mix at Bethel University, from a downside scenario of $41,191 to an upside scenario of $75,261. These are scenarios rather than observed groups of graduates.

Among programs with published medians four years after completion, Nursing reaches $73,384, Business/Commerce reaches $68,689, and Business Administration and Management reaches $58,731. The program figures span much of the modeled range, so the field selected matters to the earnings picture.

Affordability is Bethel University’s stronger financial pillar: average net price is $18,610, below the peer median of $22,347, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size). Average net price is what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, and aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Across income bands, average net price is $17,580 for the lowest-income band, $12,572 for the lower-middle band, $12,673 for the middle band, $18,645 for upper-middle families, and $25,871 for the highest-income band. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000, level with the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Lower net price than peers and earnings close to expectation point in the same direction, while debt remains at the peer norm.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$1,717
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$1,899
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$182

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

Bethel University (IN) acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Bethel University admitted 97.7% of applicants in the reported entering class, a rate above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size). That comparison places the university’s reported admission outcome well above the typical rate for its institutional peers, without predicting an individual decision.

The rate summarizes the reported applicant pool rather than setting anyone’s personal odds.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
97.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
900
Reported average
1014
Approximate upper endpoint
1150

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

What are the largest majors at Bethel University (IN)?[12]

Nursing sits at the higher end of Bethel University’s program earnings, with median earnings of $73,384 four years after completion across 45 degrees awarded. Business/Commerce also falls in the higher-earning group, posting $68,689 with 8 degrees awarded.

More moderate results appear in Business Administration and Management, at $58,731 across 30 degrees awarded, and Subject-Area Teacher Education, at $53,186 with 11 degrees awarded. The spread across these fields means the earnings picture depends substantially on the field a student chooses.

Health Professions accounts for 21.2% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, giving the program mix a clear health-oriented center. Published earnings data cover 10 bachelor’s fields, and the largest degree-producing fields show a broad range of outcomes four years after completion.

The degree mix at Bethel University is anchored by professional fields, with Health Professions and Business accounting for 21.2% and 20.3% of bachelor's degrees awarded, respectively. Education is a distant third at 11.3%.

The university has 10 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, at 45 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management at 30 and Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries at 19.

Nursing is also the highest-earning program, with graduates reporting a median of $73,384 four years after completion. The next-highest earnings come from Business/Commerce, a smaller program at 8 degrees awarded, where graduates earn $68,689 and match the national median for the field.

Subject-Area Teacher Education, with 11 degrees awarded, and Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, with 6 degrees awarded, are also among the top earners, with medians of $53,186 and $53,152, respectively, each exceeding the national median for their fields. The pattern is one of a few large professional programs anchoring the degree mix, with the strongest earnings concentrated in the largest program.

10.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields. The earnings picture is modest outside of Nursing and a handful of business and education programs, with several of the largest programs earning below the national median for their fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 45 degrees awarded
$73,384
Business Administration, Management and Operations 30 degrees awarded
$58,731
Pastoral Counseling and Specialized Ministries 19 degrees awarded
$37,149
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 17 degrees awarded
$48,243
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 16 degrees awarded
$45,366
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 13 degrees awarded
$45,222

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

How does Bethel University (IN) serve students from different backgrounds?

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort at Bethel University is 53.2%, and Pell recipients finish at 48.4%, below the overall rate by 4.8 percentage points. Azimuth ranks the university in the 17th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions, and the university falls among the Opportunity Builders.

Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At Bethel University, 97.7% of applicants are admitted, setting a broad entry point for a private nonprofit university. The undergraduate enrollment is 1,008 undergraduates; 33.5% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 21.4% enter as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 15th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Broad admission coexists with a low access-pillar placement.

06 / Bethel University (IN) briefing

What colleges are similar to Bethel University (IN)?[16]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. A leading match in one category can have a higher or lower admission rate, cost or earnings in another. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Bethel University (IN).

Admissions peerUniversity of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne96.0% admitted
Comparison with Bethel University (IN)
MeasureBethel University (IN)University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,289$62,831+$9,542 vs Bethel University (IN)
Average annual net price$18,610$18,196-$414 vs Bethel University (IN) · lower cost
Admission rate97.7%96.0%
Nearby alternativeGoshen CollegeNearby option · IN
Comparison with Bethel University (IN)
MeasureBethel University (IN)Goshen College
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,289$55,539+$2,250 vs Bethel University (IN)
Average annual net price$18,610$14,493-$4,117 vs Bethel University (IN) · lower cost
Admission rate97.7%84.1%
Higher-earnings alternativeValparaiso University$69,228 earnings
Comparison with Bethel University (IN)
MeasureBethel University (IN)Valparaiso University
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,289$69,228+$15,939 vs Bethel University (IN)
Average annual net price$18,610$18,578-$32 vs Bethel University (IN) · lower cost
Admission rate97.7%89.4%
Explore Valparaiso University →
Lower-cost alternativeIndiana University-Kokomo$3,968 average net price
Comparison with Bethel University (IN)
MeasureBethel University (IN)Indiana University-Kokomo
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,289$54,618+$1,329 vs Bethel University (IN)
Average annual net price$18,610$3,968-$14,642 vs Bethel University (IN) · lower cost
Admission rate97.7%86.5%
Explore Indiana University-Kokomo →
Similar profileWilmington CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Bethel University (IN)
MeasureBethel University (IN)Wilmington College
Peer earnings · 4 years$53,289$52,364-$925 vs Bethel University (IN)
Average annual net price$18,610$24,153+$5,543 vs Bethel University (IN) · higher cost
Admission rate97.7%92.4%
Explore Wilmington College →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology · U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  14. Historical first-generation share. A discontinued historical earnings-cohort measure, not the current student population.

    Source fields: FIRST_GEN

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  15. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

    U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

  16. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology · U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation

College Scorecard data documentation · How to interpret program rankings