College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Stetson University

FLMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #969 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Stetson University in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Stetson University is a private nonprofit university in Deland, Florida, where Business degrees lead the mix. Access is the strongest , and it is above average.

The fit is clearest for a student who wants a smaller private campus, and most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than further study. Graduates earn less than expects for students like them.

The typical graduate earns below the median at comparable institutions. The model attributes an adding part to the factors it measures and a subtracting part to what it cannot explain.

Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate. Families at the bottom of the income scale pay less than the published cost, and those at the top pay closer to the sticker price.

The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid field, Finance, is also among the largest.

The second-largest, Business Administration and Management, pays below the national median for that field.

Stetson University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
71.6%
Six-year completion[2]
62.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,773

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,327
Median student debt[4]
$23,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$48,703

Stetson University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Stetson University is a private nonprofit university in Deland, Florida, enrolling 2,297 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the lower third among nonprofit four-year institutions (34th percentile).

The university admits 71.6% of applicants, a rate that is close to the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 78.2% return for a second year and 62.3% finish within six years.

Both figures run below the peer medians of 83.4% and 68.8%. An estimated 18.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four pillars are spread out. Access is the strongest, at the 64th percentile, while return is the weakest, at the 28th percentile.

Affordability and mobility sit between them, at the 40th and 33rd percentiles respectively.

Access is the clearest part of Stetson University’s Azimuth profile, but return is the part that most limits the overall picture for a family weighing cost against outcomes. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places access in the 64th percentile, the university’s strongest pillar.

Affordability is in the 40th percentile, mobility in the 33rd percentile, and return—the weakest pillar—in the 28th percentile. Access sits ahead of the other pillars, while return pulls in the opposite direction.

37.2% of undergraduates at Stetson University receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks Stetson University #530 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 60.5%, 1.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (62.3%). Azimuth ranks the university #989 for mobility. Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

Stetson University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#969

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 33
Access & reach
National percentile: 64
Affordability
National percentile: 40
Return on investment
National percentile: 28

01 / Stetson University briefing

Stetson University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Stetson University, aid recipients face an average net price of $19,372, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. The published cost of attendance is $72,533, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus tuition and fees are $57,410, and room and board is $17,728. Financial aid offsets $53,161 from the published cost on average.

Compared with comparable institutions (same type and size), the is $7,999 below the peer median of $27,371. Azimuth places the university’s affordability pillar in the 40th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The lower net price than peers and the average aid offset point in the same direction.

The published cost of attendance at Stetson University is $72,533 (an average across living arrangements), and aid-adjusted prices differ across family-income bands. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $15,931 for the lowest family-income band, $14,657 for the lower-middle band, and $17,327 for the middle band.

For the upper-middle family-income band, the average net price is $22,600, while the average net price for the highest family-income band is $26,904. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $10,973.

Azimuth ranks the university #855 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 73% of the published cost, with average financial aid savings of $53,161.

For first-time full-time aid recipients, the average net price is $19,372, which is $7,999 below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Published tuition and fees are $57,410, and room and board are listed at $17,728.

The aid offset and the lower peer comparison point in the same direction for aid recipients. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,250, and 91.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is $949 below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $48,703.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,327

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Stetson University

Federal borrowing touches 91.2% of federal aid recipients, and completers who borrowed have median federal student loan debt of $23,250. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199, placing Stetson University $949 below it.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $48,703. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 57% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative debt of $29,276 per borrower.

Including 56% of graduates with federal loans, the average federal amount was $20,486. Private loans were held by 13% of graduates and averaged $40,463 per private borrower.

For prospective borrowers, lower-than-peer debt is offset by a less favorable earnings picture at Stetson University. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $57,773 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings level in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, point in the same direction.

Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places this measure in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The downside scenario is $44,904 and the upside scenario is $75,827, with the typical scenario at the same level as median earnings. Median federal student loan debt is $23,250, while the peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, leaving Stetson $949 below the peer figure.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Lower debt than peers sits alongside earnings below the model's expectation.

For the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing is $48,703. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 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
$23,250
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$48,703

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$264/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$619/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 / Stetson University briefing

Stetson University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

At Stetson University, access is the strongest pillar, leaving the return figures to read carefully. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $57,773 four years after completion, placing them in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; earnings are $10,477 below it. Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth places the return pillar in the 28th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,086. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,777. The expected-earnings shortfall and peer comparison point the same way.

The earnings picture at Stetson University is restrained: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled report median earnings of $57,773 four years after completion. The measure draws on an earnings cohort of 824 completers.

Azimuth puts those earnings in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program-mix earnings scenarios place the downside at $44,904 and the upside at $75,827; the typical scenario matches the reported median.

An estimated 30.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students.

The modeled range sits alongside earnings below the model’s expectations, leaving a restrained picture.

At $57,773, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings four years after completion, placing the figure in the 43rd percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, putting Stetson University $10,477 below that benchmark.

Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 34th percentile.

Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 28th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The program-mix model sets a downside earnings scenario of $44,904 and an upside scenario of $75,827.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,086. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $8,777.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $704. The peer comparison and model result point in the same direction, while the scenarios show a wider range across the program mix.

Finance is the highest-earning listed program, with 46 degrees awarded and median earnings of $85,033 four years after completion. Its earnings are 1.02x of the national median for its field.

Accounting awarded 30 degrees and posted $78,682 in median earnings, with a 1.03x ratio to its field’s national median. Business Administration and Management had 65 degrees awarded and median earnings of $59,629, compared with 0.87x of the national field median.

The cited programs show that earnings differ sharply across the larger and higher-earning fields.

Earnings differ markedly across the modeled program-mix scenarios, from $44,904 on the downside to $75,827 on the upside; these are scenarios rather than observed groups. Among individual fields, median earnings four years after completion are $85,033 in Finance, $78,682 in Accounting, and $63,707 in Marketing. The field figures help explain why the modeled range is wide.

For aid recipients, Stetson University has an average net price of $19,372, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. That figure is below the $27,371 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), by $7,999.

Aid covers about 73% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average rather than a personal quote. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,250, below the $24,199 peer median by $949.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $264 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent borrowers using Parent PLUS have median borrowing of $48,703.

Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students. Lower net price and debt than peers sit alongside earnings that fall below the model's expectation.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,086
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$8,777
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$5,691

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 / Stetson University briefing

Stetson University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Stetson University admitted 71.6% of applicants, a rate just above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). The rate summarizes admissions outcomes for the reported entering class rather than setting a personal likelihood of admission.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported 11,657 first-year applicants, 8,345 admitted applicants, and 673 enrolled students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
71.6%
25th percentile
988
Median
1090
75th percentile
1213

CDS 2024-25 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Stetson University briefing

What are the largest majors at Stetson University?[12]

Program-level earnings at Stetson University vary across the fields with the strongest published outcomes, making field choice central to the return picture. Finance has median earnings of $85,033 four years after completion, with 46 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $78,682 and 30 degrees awarded. More moderate figures appear in Marketing, at $63,707 with 17 degrees awarded, and Kinesiology and Physical Education, at $61,974 with 11 degrees awarded.

The contrast between the higher-earning business fields and these more moderate fields shows that four-year earnings differ materially by program.

Business is the largest program family, accounting for 30.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and earnings vary widely among the university’s largest fields. The figures show a wide earnings spread across the largest fields.

The degree mix at Stetson University is led by Business, which accounts for 30.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Visual & Performing Arts and Health Professions follow, at 11.1% and 10.8% respectively.

The university has 15 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Health Sciences, at 76 degrees awarded a year.

Its graduates earn a median of $52,591 four years after completion, which is 0.86x the national median for the field. Business Administration and Management is the second-largest program, with 65 degrees awarded and median earnings of $59,629.

The highest-earning program is Finance, where graduates earn $85,033 from 46 degrees a year. That figure sits at 1.02x the national median for its field.

Accounting is the next best-paid, with median earnings of $78,682, which is 1.03x the national median for its field. Music, a mid-sized program at 43 degrees, reports the lowest earnings among the larger programs at $41,298.

The earnings pattern is concentrated in business fields: the three highest-earning programs all sit in that family, and the largest program outside it trails by a wide margin. Across all fields, 14.3% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 76 degrees awarded
$52,591
Business Administration, Management and Operations 65 degrees awarded
$59,629
Psychology, General 54 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report
Finance and Financial Management Services 46 degrees awarded
$85,033
Music 43 degrees awarded
$41,298
Political Science and Government 40 degrees awarded
$52,667

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 / Stetson University briefing

How does Stetson University serve students from different backgrounds?

Access is Stetson University's strongest pillar, but its mobility measures present a more limited completion and earnings picture. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 62.3%; Pell recipients complete within six years at 60.5%, below the overall rate by 1.8 percentage points.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth assigns mobility to the 33rd percentile. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 34th percentile. Graduates earn about $5,691 less than the model expects for similar students.

At Stetson University, Pell Grant recipients make up 37.2% of undergraduates, a financial-access measure, within an undergraduate enrollment of 2,297. The university admits 71.6% of applicants, and an estimated 18.8% of undergraduates entered as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell participation, admissions, and transfer entry describe several routes into this private nonprofit university.

06 / Stetson University briefing

What colleges are similar to Stetson 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 Stetson University.

Admissions peerFlorida College69.7% admitted
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversityFlorida College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$46,022-$11,751 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$23,931+$4,559 vs Stetson University · higher cost
Admission rate71.6%69.7%
Higher-admission alternativeLiberty University99.0% admitted
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversityLiberty University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$57,700-$73 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$29,357+$9,985 vs Stetson University · higher cost
Admission rate71.6%99.0%
Explore Liberty University →
Nearby alternativeSaint Leo UniversityNearby option · FL
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversitySaint Leo University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$58,644+$871 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$21,293+$1,921 vs Stetson University · higher cost
Admission rate71.6%78.4%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Delaware$77,675 earnings
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversityUniversity of Delaware
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$77,675+$19,902 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$17,799-$1,573 vs Stetson University · lower cost
Admission rate71.6%70.6%
Explore University of Delaware →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of North Florida$10,154 average net price
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversityUniversity of North Florida
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$59,418+$1,645 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$10,154-$9,218 vs Stetson University · lower cost
Admission rate71.6%53.2%
Explore University of North Florida →
Similar profileBerry CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with Stetson University
MeasureStetson UniversityBerry College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,773$58,750+$977 vs Stetson University
Average annual net price$19,372$22,320+$2,948 vs Stetson University · higher cost
Admission rate71.6%64.0%

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