College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Bethel University (MN)

MNSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #995 nationally

Data snapshot Narrative updated

Azimuth’s composite measure sits in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Bethel University is a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where the degree mix is led by Business and Health Professions. Return is well above average, and the university falls among the Opportunity Builders group.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes most of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — rather than to what it cannot explain.

The price case turns on income: families at the bottom of the scale pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate below the cohort as a whole, and access is below the levels seen at many peers.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. A student drawn to Nursing should know it is the largest program and among the best-paid.

Bethel University (MN) at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
87.8%
Six-year completion[2]
71.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$70,633

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$20,071
Median student debt[4]
$21,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$24,157

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

Bethel University is a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enrolling 1,871 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions, with the return pillar leading the way and access the weakest of the four.

The university admits 87.8% of applicants, a higher rate than the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 85.7% return for a second year and 71.4% finish within six years.

Both figures run well above the peer medians of 74.2% and 54.9%. An estimated 22.7% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a large part of the student body did not begin here.

The four pillars sit far apart at Bethel University. Return is the strongest, while access is the weakest.

Mobility and affordability fall between them, creating a profile where the financial return for graduates is the clearest strength.

Return is the clearest positive in Bethel University’s Azimuth profile, although access gives prospective applicants a markedly different reading. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, return sits in the 79th percentile, the university’s strongest pillar.

Mobility is in the 34th percentile, and affordability is in the 28th percentile. Access, the weakest pillar, is in the 5th percentile.

Azimuth places the university among the Opportunity Builders group, so the return result stands apart from lower access and affordability readings.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,190 and 1,300. For the ACT, the middle 50% of submitted scores ranged from 22 to 28.

18.5% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Bethel University #1,395 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions, the weakest of the four pillars.

Pell recipients complete at 58.6%, below the overall rate for the entering cohort by 12.8 percentage points. Azimuth ranks the university #965 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions, and places it among the Opportunity Builders. Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

Bethel University (MN) rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#995

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 34
Access & reach
National percentile: 5
Affordability
National percentile: 28
Return on investment
National percentile: 79

01 / Bethel University (MN) briefing

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

Bethel University has a published cost of attendance of $58,569 before aid, including $44,226 in tuition and fees and $12,170 for room and board. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $28,556, and average aid savings against the published price are $30,013.

That average is $6,209 above the peer median of $22,347 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth places Bethel University in the 28th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid reduces the published charge substantially, though the remaining average cost sits above the comparable-school midpoint.

The published cost of attendance at Bethel University is $58,569, and average net prices vary across family-income bands for aid recipients. Families in the lowest-income band average $22,218; the lower-middle band averages $22,279, the middle band $20,071, the upper-middle band $24,963, and the highest-income band $33,155.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,937. Azimuth ranks the university #1,014 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid offsets $30,013 from the sticker price and covers about 51% of the published cost. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $28,556, which is $6,209 above the peer median of $22,347 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $44,226, with room and board listed at $12,170. The above-peer average net price remains an important part of the cost picture despite the aid offset.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,500. That is $3,500 below the $25,000 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), and 93.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $24,157.

Use the Financial GPS tool for 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$20,071

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Bethel University (MN)

Federal borrowing reaches 93.4% of federal aid recipients at Bethel University, making the debt figures relevant for many borrowers. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $25,000, leaving the university’s median $3,500 below that benchmark. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $24,157.

The borrower share is high even though the median federal debt sits below the peer figure.

At Bethel University, the return picture is built on earnings that outpace both the model's expectations and the peer median. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $70,633, at the 77th percentile nationally.

That is $14,718 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 71st percentile nationally.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, stretch from $48,910 in a downside case to $90,160 in an upside case, with $70,633 as the typical scenario. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal loans, $3,500 below the $25,000 peer median.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month. Earnings above the peer median and debt below it point the same way for the investment picture.

Parent borrowing adds a separate federal cost: among Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $24,157. For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years; the Financial GPS tool offers personalized family cost analysis.

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

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Bethel University (MN) briefing

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

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, Bethel University posts median earnings of $70,633 four years after completion, placing earnings in the 77th percentile. Against the peer median—the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size)—of $55,915, the figure is $14,718 above.

Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that earnings-beyond-expectations comparison, which measures earnings against the model’s expectation for similar students, in the 71st 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) adds $4,765. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $286.

Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer and model comparisons point in the same direction.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings four years after completion are $70,633 at Bethel University. The measure draws on an earnings cohort of 1,025 completers, and Azimuth places it in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations means the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix set typical earnings at $70,633, with a downside scenario of $48,910 and an upside scenario of $90,160. An estimated 30.0% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The above-expected earnings measure sits alongside scenarios that show a wide range of possible earnings paths.

Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled from Bethel University have median earnings of $70,633, placing the figure in the 77th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, and the university's median stands $14,718 above it.

Completers earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students four years after completion. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what completers earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 71st percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,765. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $286.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,150. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $48,910 on the downside to $90,160 on the upside. The peer comparison and model-based figures point in the same direction.

Nursing is the largest program, with 114 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,511 four years after completion. Among smaller high-earning programs, Human Resources Management and Services awarded 13 degrees and has median earnings of $101,195, while Computer and Information Sciences awarded 17 degrees and has median earnings of $97,008.

Earnings differ enough by field that a university-wide figure does not describe every outcome. The downside scenario is $48,910, and the upside scenario is $90,160; both scenarios are based on the program mix rather than observed graduate groups.

Bethel University pairs federal borrower debt below the comparable-institution median with earnings that exceed the model’s expectation, though its average net price is higher than the peer benchmark. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $21,500.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $25,000, placing the university below it by $3,500. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offer a separate return measure. Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $28,556, which is above the $22,347 peer median by $6,209. Aid covers about 51% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Lower debt and above-expected earnings point one way, while the higher net price asks for a closer family-specific cost review.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,765
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$286
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$5,051

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 (MN) briefing

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

Bethel University admitted 87.8% of applicants in the reported entering class, so most applicants in that pool received an offer. That rate is above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
87.8%
Approximate lower endpoint
1190
Reported average
1249
Approximate upper endpoint
1300

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 (MN) briefing

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

Bethel University shows a clear spread in earnings across its larger and higher-earning fields, making program choice central to the return picture. Four years after completion, Human Resources Management and Services posted median earnings of $101,195 across 13 degrees awarded, and Computer and Information Sciences posted $97,008 across 17 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the largest of these programs, recorded $87,511 with 114 degrees awarded. At a more moderate earnings level, Teacher Education recorded $47,556 across 44 degrees awarded.

The contrast between the higher-earning management and computing fields and the more moderate education field shows why the schoolwide earnings figure does not describe every program equally.

Bethel University has a broad degree mix, with Business accounting for 18.7% of bachelor’s degrees awarded and Health Professions for 17.3%. Published earnings data cover 14 fields, so the largest programs show a range of early-career outcomes.

Among the largest degree-producing fields, Nursing had 114 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,511 four years after completion; Business Administration and Management had 111 degrees awarded and $77,059 in median earnings; Kinesiology and Physical Education had 45 degrees awarded and $68,202; Psychology had 45 degrees awarded and $55,370; and Teacher Education had 44 degrees awarded and $47,556.

The bachelor's degrees at Bethel University are spread across several fields, with no single family dominating. Business accounts for 18.7% of degrees awarded, followed closely by Health Professions at 17.3% and Education at 13.5%.

The university has 14 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Nursing, with 114 degrees awarded, and Business Administration and Management is nearly as large at 111 degrees awarded.

The highest-earning program is a small one: Human Resources Management and Services graduates earn a median of $101,195 four years after completion, from just 13 degrees awarded. Computer and Information Sciences is next, with median earnings of $97,008 and 17 degrees awarded.

Nursing, the largest program, also posts a median of $87,511 from its 114 degrees awarded. Physics and Accounting round out the top five, with medians of $85,657 and $85,036, respectively, from 25 and 7 degrees awarded.

The pattern is one of breadth rather than concentration: the largest programs are not the highest-earning, and the highest-earning programs are small. A student drawn to the health professions or business will find the largest departments, while the strongest earnings outcomes sit in more specialized fields. Across all programs, 17.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 114 degrees awarded
$87,511
Business Administration, Management and Operations 111 degrees awarded
$77,059
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 45 degrees awarded
$68,202
Psychology, General 45 degrees awarded
$55,370
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 44 degrees awarded
$47,556
Biology, General 40 degrees awarded
$58,005

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 (MN) briefing

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

Completion differs between the reported cohorts at Bethel University. Pell recipients have a 58.6% six-year completion rate, compared with a 71.4% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort; the Pell rate is below the overall rate by 12.8 percentage points.

Azimuth places the university among the Opportunity Builders group, with mobility in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, is in the 71st percentile.

Graduates earn about $5,051 more than the model expects for similar students. The completion gap sits alongside higher-than-expected earnings.

For prospective applicants, Bethel University has an admission rate of 87.8%, making entry relatively open even as its access measure sits lower in Azimuth’s comparison. The university enrolls 1,871 undergraduates.

Pell Grants reach 18.5% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 22.7%. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 5th percentile.

The admission rate and transfer estimate describe routes into the university, while Pell participation describes financial access within its undergraduate enrollment.

06 / Bethel University (MN) briefing

What colleges are similar to Bethel University (MN)?[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 (MN).

Admissions peerUniversity of Wisconsin-Eau Claire82.3% admitted
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$60,838-$9,795 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$16,550-$12,006 vs Bethel University (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate87.8%82.3%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire →
Higher-admission alternativeDavenport University97.8% admitted
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)Davenport University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$69,009-$1,624 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$17,707-$10,849 vs Bethel University (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate87.8%97.8%
Nearby alternativeSaint Johns UniversityNearby option · MN
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)Saint Johns University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$72,829+$2,196 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$25,672-$2,884 vs Bethel University (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate87.8%90.6%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of St Thomas$82,136 earnings
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)University of St Thomas
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$82,136+$11,503 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$29,155+$599 vs Bethel University (MN) · higher cost
Admission rate87.8%85.4%
Explore University of St Thomas →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Minnesota-Twin Cities$16,778 average net price
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$71,941+$1,308 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$16,778-$11,778 vs Bethel University (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate87.8%79.8%
Explore University of Minnesota-Twin Cities →
Similar profileDePauw UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Bethel University (MN)
MeasureBethel University (MN)DePauw University
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,633$70,091-$542 vs Bethel University (MN)
Average annual net price$28,556$22,264-$6,292 vs Bethel University (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate87.8%57.2%
Explore DePauw University →

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