College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Northeastern State University

OKMedium public institution · Overall rank #388 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Northeastern State University #388 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Northeastern State University is a public university in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where the largest share of degrees are in Business. Affordability is among the highest we track, and mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical earnings sit below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to the remainder it cannot explain.

Return is modestly below average. Pell recipients finish at a rate above the overall cohort, and access is above average.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid one, Nursing, is not among them.

Northeastern State University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
99.6%
Six-year completion[2]
35.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$50,752

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,612
Median student debt[4]
$17,367
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$11,366

Northeastern State University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Northeastern State University enrolls 4,772 undergraduates in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, as a public university. Azimuth places it in the top third of nonprofit four-year institutions (74th percentile).

With an admission rate of 99.6%, Northeastern State University accepts nearly every applicant, compared with a median of 85.9% at comparable institutions (same type and size). First-year retention stands at 60.5%, which is below the 73.7% median for comparable institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 35.4%, compared with a peer median of 49.1%. That rate counts only first-time, full-time students.

Because an estimated 57.3% of students enter as transfers or part-time students, it describes a minority of those who study here. The four are spread wide.

Affordability is the strongest pillar, at the 91st percentile, while return is the weakest, at the 34th percentile. Mobility and access land in between, at the 75th and 71st percentiles.

Affordability is the pillar that stands out in Northeastern State University's Azimuth profile, landing in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility and access are also above the midpoint, in the 75th and 71st percentiles respectively.

Return is the pillar that trails the others, at the 34th percentile. The shape is a public university where cost and mobility are the strongest pillars, while graduate earnings sit below the typical median among comparable institutions.

The undergraduate body includes a 45.1% share of Pell recipients. For enrolled students who submitted SAT scores, the middle half ran from 866 to 1,136.

Among ACT submitters, the middle half ran from 18 to 23. Pell recipients finish at 44.8%, exceeding the overall cohort rate (35.4%) by 9.4 percentage points.

Azimuth ranks the university #423 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #366 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

Northeastern State University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#388

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 75
Access & reach
National percentile: 71
Affordability
National percentile: 91
Return on investment
National percentile: 34

Top-ranked majors

  1. Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians#9
  2. Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services#17
  3. Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences#20

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Northeastern State University briefing

Northeastern State University cost & financial aid[6][7]

The standard budget at Northeastern State University carries a cost of attendance of $21,551. In-state tuition and fees run $7,810, while room and board add $11,120.

Students from outside the state pay $17,290 in tuition and fees. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients pay an average net price of $12,710.

Aid cuts the sticker price by $8,841 on average, covering about 41% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That net price lands $1,358 below the $14,068 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks Northeastern State University #133 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 91st percentile.

The published cost of attendance is $21,551. Azimuth ranks Northeastern State University #133 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $10,598, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $12,612, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $19,511. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,913.

Aid covers about 41% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The across all aid recipients is $12,710, which is $1,358 below the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $17,367 in federal student loans. That is $3,862 below the $21,229 peer median.

About 69.6% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $11,366 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $197 a month. It estimates what a degree might cost and what graduates earn, based on your own circumstances.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,612

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Northeastern State University

Borrowers who complete a degree at Northeastern State University leave with a median of $17,367 in federal student loans. 69.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is $3,862 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $11,366 in Parent PLUS loans.

The return picture at Northeastern State University is mixed. Graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level, a result that lands at the 54th percentile.

But the median earnings four years after completion of $50,752 sits $6,549 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, show a range from a downside of $42,720 to an upside of $72,246, with a typical figure of $50,752.

On the cost side, the median federal debt for borrowers who finish is $17,367, which is $3,862 below the peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $197 a month if repaid over ten years.

The combination of a low net price and below-peer debt points to affordability as the university's clearest financial strength, even as earnings run below the peer median.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $11,366. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $197 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$17,367
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$11,366

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$197/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$144/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Northeastern State University briefing

Northeastern State University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return is the weakest pillar at Northeastern State University, with earnings that fall below the peer median for comparable institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $50,752, a figure in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $57,301, so the gap is $6,549 below that level. The return pillar is in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Federally aided graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That places the gap at the 54th 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 $3,610. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $128. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,658.

At Northeastern State University, the median earnings four years after completion is $50,752 for federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled. That is $6,549 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the figure in the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort is 1,836 completers. Graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

That result lands at the 54th percentile. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $50,752, with a downside scenario of $42,720 and an upside scenario of $72,246.

An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Graduates of Northeastern State University earn a median of $50,752 four years after completing a degree, at the 20th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's four-year median falls $6,549 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #971 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

The gap sits at the 54th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,610.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $3,658. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $128.

The program mix leans toward professional fields in health and business, plus social sciences and education, with smaller technology and science fields also represented. Estimated earnings scenarios, derived from the program mix, run from $42,720 on the downside to $72,246 on the upside.

An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study after completing their degrees, based on the program mix.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix range from $42,720 to $72,246, with a typical scenario of $50,752. These are scenarios, not observed groups of graduates.

At the upper end, Nursing graduates earn $96,702 four years after completion, from 73 degrees awarded. Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians follows at $69,276, and Computer Science at $67,854. The span between the downside scenario and the highest-earning program is wide.

The financial case for Northeastern State University rests on low cost and moderate debt, not on high earnings. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—is $12,710, and the median federal student debt for borrowers who finish is $17,367.

That debt is $3,862 below the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, it corresponds to an estimated payment of $197 a month.

Graduates earn about $48 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. The published cost of attendance is $21,551, and aid covers about 41% of that for the average aid recipient. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $11,366 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,610
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$3,658
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$48

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 / Northeastern State University briefing

Northeastern State University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Northeastern State University admits nearly every applicant. Its admission rate is 99.6%, well above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
99.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
866
Reported average
1049
Approximate upper endpoint
1136

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 / Northeastern State University briefing

What are the largest majors at Northeastern State University?[12]

The largest programs at Northeastern State University sit in fields with moderate earnings, while the highest pay is concentrated in a smaller professional program. Research and Experimental Psychology awards the most degrees, 149 a year, with median earnings of $46,102 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #40 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field. Business Administration and Management and Teacher Education each award 97 degrees.

Graduates in business earn $60,651, while those in teacher education earn $43,116. Azimuth ranks the business program #255 nationally and the teacher education program #193.

Nursing is the highest-earning program, at $96,702 from 73 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks it #94 nationally.

The earnings spread between the largest programs and the top earner is wide, and the fields that pay the most are not the ones with the most degrees awarded.

Azimuth ranks 17 of the university's bachelor's programs nationally, with earnings data available for 25 fields. The strongest national ranks sit in specialized programs, while the programs with the most degrees awarded show more modest earnings.

Business accounts for 19.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 11.7% and Health Professions at 11.1%. The largest single program is Research and Experimental Psychology, with 149 degrees awarded and median earnings of $46,102 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #40 nationally and #1 in Oklahoma. The best-paid program is Nursing, ranked #94 nationally and #2 in Oklahoma, where graduates earn $96,702 from 73 degrees awarded a year.

Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians holds the strongest national rank at #9, with 34 degrees awarded and earnings of $69,276. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest earnings and best national ranks sit in smaller, more specialized fields.

The program mix at Northeastern State University leans toward professional fields. Business accounts for 19.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 11.7% and Health Professions at 11.1%.

The university has 17 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 25 with published four-year earnings data. The largest programs are Research and Experimental Psychology at 149 degrees awarded, Business Administration and Management at 97 degrees awarded, and Teacher Education at 97 degrees awarded.

Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians ranks #2 in Oklahoma within its field, with 34 degrees awarded and median earnings of $69,276 four years after completion. Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition Services ranks #17 nationally within its field and #1 in Oklahoma, with 32 degrees awarded.

Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences ranks #20 nationally within its field and #1 in Oklahoma, with 60 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Nursing, where graduates earn a median of $96,702 four years out, from 73 degrees awarded a year.

The next highest-earning program is Quality Control and Safety Technologies/Technicians. Strength is concentrated in a handful of smaller programs that rank well nationally, while the largest programs sit closer to the middle of their fields.

Across all fields, 10.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM. Four-year earnings for fields where graduate study is common may understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Research and Experimental Psychology 149 degrees awarded
$46,102
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 97 degrees awarded
$43,116
Business Administration, Management and Operations 97 degrees awarded
$60,651
Criminal Justice and Corrections 86 degrees awarded
$50,268
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 81 degrees awarded
$41,705
Accounting and Related Services 75 degrees awarded
$65,781

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 / Northeastern State University briefing

What colleges are similar to Northeastern State University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Northeastern State University.

Admissions peerMissouri Southern State University97.0% admitted
Comparison with Northeastern State University
MeasureNortheastern State UniversityMissouri Southern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,752$52,419+$1,667 vs Northeastern State University
Average annual net price$12,710$12,007-$703 vs Northeastern State University · lower cost
Admission rate99.6%97.0%
Explore Missouri Southern State University →
Nearby alternativeOral Roberts UniversityNearby option · OK
Comparison with Northeastern State University
MeasureNortheastern State UniversityOral Roberts University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,752$54,666+$3,914 vs Northeastern State University
Average annual net price$12,710$25,365+$12,655 vs Northeastern State University · higher cost
Admission rate99.6%98.9%
Higher-earnings alternativeSaint Mary's University of Minnesota$72,502 earnings
Comparison with Northeastern State University
MeasureNortheastern State UniversitySaint Mary's University of Minnesota
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,752$72,502+$21,750 vs Northeastern State University
Average annual net price$12,710$11,704-$1,006 vs Northeastern State University · lower cost
Admission rate99.6%92.8%
Lower-cost alternativeTexas A & M International University$3,637 average net price
Comparison with Northeastern State University
MeasureNortheastern State UniversityTexas A & M International University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,752$50,288-$464 vs Northeastern State University
Average annual net price$12,710$3,637-$9,073 vs Northeastern State University · lower cost
Admission rate99.6%44.4%
Explore Texas A & M International University →
Similar profileNicholls State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Northeastern State University
MeasureNortheastern State UniversityNicholls State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$50,752$51,767+$1,015 vs Northeastern State University
Average annual net price$12,710$12,947+$237 vs Northeastern State University · higher cost
Admission rate99.6%90.8%
Explore Nicholls State 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. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

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

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

  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

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

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  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

  14. 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

  15. 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

How to interpret program rankings