College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Mount Union

OHSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1155 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places University of Mount Union in the 21st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Mount Union is a private nonprofit university in Alliance, Ohio, where Education, Business, and Health Professions lead the degree mix. Return is the strongest , though it sits modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — and a subtraction to what it cannot explain.

Aid covers about half the published cost for the average recipient, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is under ten thousand dollars. Pell students complete within a few points of the overall rate, but access and affordability are both 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 the largest programs should know that Nursing pays well above the others, while Teacher Education pays the least.

University of Mount Union at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.2%
Six-year completion[2]
58.7%
Four-year earnings[3]
$57,955

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$17,741
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$38,000

University of Mount Union rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of Mount Union is a private nonprofit university in Alliance, Ohio, enrolling 1,995 undergraduates. The university sits in the lower portion of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (composite at the 21st percentile).

University of Mount Union admits 78.2% of applicants, a rate slightly above the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 76.7% return for a second year, which is above the peer median of 74.2%.

The six-year graduation rate is 58.7%, compared with a peer median of 54.9%. An estimated 10.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes only the first-time, full-time cohort.

Return is the strongest of the four pillars, while access is the weakest. Mobility and affordability fall between them, with no extreme outlier among the four.

The pillars are clustered in the lower half of the field, with a modest spread from the strongest to the weakest.

Return is the relative high point in an otherwise lower-ranked Azimuth profile for University of Mount Union. Azimuth places return in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university’s strongest pillar.

Mobility is in the 34th percentile, affordability in the 24th percentile, and access in the 23rd percentile, its weakest pillar. The pillars point to a mixed picture, with return ahead of the other measures but access and affordability trailing.

Undergraduates holding Pell Grants make up 27.8% of the student body at University of Mount Union. Among enrolled students who submitted test scores, the middle 50% landed between 910 and 1,240 on the SAT and between 18 and 25 on the ACT.

Azimuth places the university at #1,130 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients finish within six years at 55.0%, trailing the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (58.7%) by 3.7 percentage points.

Azimuth ranks the university #972 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Mount Union rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,155

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 34
Access & reach
National percentile: 23
Affordability
National percentile: 24
Return on investment
National percentile: 45

01 / University of Mount Union briefing

University of Mount Union cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of Mount Union has a published annual cost of attendance of $49,276, an average across living arrangements. Its published tuition and fees are $36,600, and room and board are $12,720.

For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $23,280. Financial aid offsets $25,996 of the published price on average.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $22,347, and Mount Union’s average is $933 above that figure. Azimuth ranks University of Mount Union #1,069 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The aid discount is substantial, though the average remaining price sits above the comparable-school median.

The published cost of attendance at the University of Mount Union is $49,276 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #1,069 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,786 for families earning under $30,000, $17,741 for families earning $48,001 to $75,000, and $26,495 for families earning over $110,000. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,709.

Tuition and fees are $36,600, and the average aid recipient receives $25,996 in grants and scholarships, bringing the across all bands to $23,280. That is $933 above the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,000 above the $25,000 peer median. 96.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $38,000. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$17,741

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Mount Union

Federal loans are widespread at University of Mount Union, with 96.0% of federal aid recipients borrowing through that program. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $25,000, and Mount Union's median stands $2,000 above it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $38,000.

The return picture at University of Mount Union is mixed, with earnings near those of comparable schools but below the model's expectation. Median earnings are $57,955 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure 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, is in the 26th percentile. Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students.

The downside, typical, and upside earnings scenarios are $44,850, $57,955, and $83,420. Median federal debt is $27,000, compared with $25,000 at comparable institutions (same type and size), or $2,000 above the peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. The model comparison and debt comparison both pull less favorably, even as earnings sit near the peer median.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $38,000. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 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
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$38,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$483/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 / University of Mount Union briefing

University of Mount Union career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $57,955, in the 43rd percentile. That is $2,040 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students.

That places the gap at the 26th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,098.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,984. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,949.

University of Mount Union posts median earnings of $57,955 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places those earnings in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, using a cohort of 592 completers.

Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students. A typical earnings scenario, based on the program mix, is $57,955, rather than an observed group result.

Graduate study is also part of the picture: an estimated 29.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings result sits above the comparable-institution median, but below the model’s expectation.

University of Mount Union’s four-year earnings are slightly above the midpoint for comparable institutions, though graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students. Median earnings are $57,955 four years after completion, placing them in the 43rd percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, and Mount Union’s figure is $2,040 above it. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, is in the 26th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,098. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $9,984.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,949. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 45th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $44,850 in the downside scenario to $83,420 in the upside scenario. The peer comparison is above, but the model expectation is higher than observed earnings.

Program figures show a wide range among Mount Union’s larger fields. Nursing awarded 58 degrees and had median earnings of $85,186 four years after completion, or 0.96x of the national median for its field.

Kinesiology and Physical Education awarded 56 degrees, with median earnings of $60,728 four years after completion and 1.11x of its field’s national median. Teacher Education awarded 45 degrees and had median earnings of $44,001 four years after completion, equal to 0.93x of the national median for its field.

These larger fields show different earnings levels and different positions against their field benchmarks.

Field choice marks a broad range in modeled earnings at University of Mount Union. The downside earnings scenario is $44,850 and the upside scenario is $83,420; both are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Among individual fields, Nursing has median earnings of $85,186 four years after completion, Mechanical Engineering reaches $80,963, and Finance reaches $80,777. Those field-level figures give the modeled range its practical meaning.

At University of Mount Union, borrowers who complete carry median federal student loan debt of $27,000, so the cost side warrants attention alongside graduate earnings. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median of $25,000, leaving the university above that figure by $2,000.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,786 in the lowest income band and $26,495 in the highest.

The intervening income bands average $19,428, $17,741, and $23,474. Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students.

The return picture is mixed: borrowing sits above its peer reference, and earnings fall short of the model’s expectation.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,098
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$9,984
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$7,886

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 / University of Mount Union briefing

University of Mount Union acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Mount Union admitted 78.2% of applicants, a rate above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size). This describes a school where the reported admissions outcome sits somewhat above its peer midpoint, without indicating an individual applicant’s chance of admission.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
910
Reported average
1088
Approximate upper endpoint
1240

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 / University of Mount Union briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Mount Union?[12]

Program choice matters sharply at University of Mount Union, where the largest fields span higher and more moderate earnings four years after completion. Nursing recorded median earnings of $85,186 and 58 degrees awarded in the academic year.

Mechanical Engineering was also at the higher end, with $80,963 in median earnings and 14 degrees awarded. By comparison, Marketing posted $66,830 across 33 degrees awarded, while Teacher Education recorded $44,001 and 45 degrees awarded.

The figures place health and engineering fields above the school’s more moderate-earning marketing and teacher education fields.

Nursing is the largest listed program and also has the highest earnings among these large fields, making program choice especially consequential here. The range across these large fields means the school-wide earnings figure does not describe every program equally.

Bachelor's degrees at University of Mount Union are divided among several fields, with Education leading at 15.8% of degrees awarded, Business at 15.2%, and Health Professions at 11.4%. The three largest programs are Nursing at 58 degrees awarded, Kinesiology and Physical Education at 56, and Teacher Education at 45.

Four-year earnings data are available for 12 programs. Nursing, the largest program, also reports the highest median earnings at $85,186 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 0.96x against the national median for its field.

The next highest earnings come from a much smaller program, Mechanical Engineering, at $80,963 from 14 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 0.88x. Finance follows at $80,777 from 13 degrees awarded, while Accounting reports $80,429 from 15 degrees awarded with a benchmark ratio of 1.06x.

The earnings picture is split between one large high-earning program and several much smaller ones. Kinesiology and Physical Education, the second-largest program, reports a median of $60,728, while Teacher Education reports $44,001.

Four-year earnings in fields where graduates frequently pursue graduate study may understate longer-term trajectories. 21.8% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 58 degrees awarded
$85,186
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 56 degrees awarded
$60,728
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 45 degrees awarded
$44,001
Marketing 33 degrees awarded
$66,830
Biology, General 29 degrees awarded
$61,213
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 28 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 / University of Mount Union briefing

How does University of Mount Union serve students from different backgrounds?

At the university, the overall six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 58.7%, but Pell recipients complete within six years at 55.0%, below the overall rate by 3.7 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are weaker: Graduates earn about $7,886 less than the model expects for similar students. This measure sits in the 26th percentile.

Admission is open to many applicants at University of Mount Union, where 78.2% are admitted and 1,995 are undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 27.8% of undergraduates, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 10.8%.

Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These entry and enrollment measures provide the context for its access standing.

06 / University of Mount Union briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Mount Union?[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 University of Mount Union.

Admissions peerMalone University75.9% admitted
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionMalone University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$51,485-$6,470 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$20,948-$2,332 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%75.9%
Higher-admission alternativeCleveland State University91.3% admitted
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionCleveland State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$61,322+$3,367 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$14,764-$8,516 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%91.3%
Explore Cleveland State University →
Nearby alternativeLake Erie CollegeNearby option · OH
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionLake Erie College
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$57,903-$52 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$20,961-$2,319 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%70.4%
Higher-earnings alternativeGannon University$65,497 earnings
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionGannon University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$65,497+$7,542 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$22,553-$727 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%74.2%
Lower-cost alternativeYoungstown State University$12,767 average net price
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionYoungstown State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$56,047-$1,908 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$12,767-$10,513 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%84.5%
Explore Youngstown State University →
Similar profileUpper Iowa UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Mount Union
MeasureUniversity of Mount UnionUpper Iowa University
Peer earnings · 4 years$57,955$58,837+$882 vs University of Mount Union
Average annual net price$23,280$20,942-$2,338 vs University of Mount Union · lower cost
Admission rate78.2%96.5%

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