College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of St Thomas (MN)

MNMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #526 nationally

Data snapshot Narrative updated

Azimuth ranks University of St Thomas #526 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of St Thomas is a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where Business accounts for the largest share of degrees, followed by Biological Sciences and Engineering. Return is among the highest we track, and graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study. Affordability is below the levels seen at many peers, the weakest of the four pillars.

Families in the lowest income band pay less than those in the highest, yet the published cost is the same for all. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are smaller.

University of St Thomas (MN) at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
85.4%
Six-year completion[2]
76.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$82,136

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$24,357
Median student debt[4]
$23,250
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$24,467

University of St Thomas (MN) rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of St Thomas is a private nonprofit university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, enrolling 6,245 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, its overall position is in the broad middle of the field (64th percentile).

Applicants are accepted at a rate of 85.4%, against a peer median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. First-year retention reaches 88.4%, above the peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time, full-time cohort is 76.4%, against a comparable median of 68.8%. An estimated 12.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the completion figure describes only those who began as full-time freshmen.

At University of St Thomas, return is the strongest pillar (91st percentile) and affordability the weakest (23rd percentile), with access and mobility sitting between them. The four sit far apart, so strengths and weaknesses do not cluster.

The University of St Thomas earns its strongest marks on return, where Azimuth places it in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students, and the median earnings four years after completion reach $82,136.

The other pillars tell a more mixed story. Mobility sits near the midpoint in the 48th percentile, while access and affordability trail, landing in the 36th and 23rd percentiles respectively.

The return pillar's strength and the affordability pillar's weakness pull in opposite directions for families weighing cost against earnings.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 1,260 and 1,423. On the ACT, the middle 50% ranged from 25 to 30.

Pell Grant recipients make up 21.8% of undergraduates. Azimuth ranks University of St Thomas #939 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at 61.1%, trailing the overall six-year graduation rate (76.4%) by 15.3 percentage points. For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #766 among nonprofit four-year institutions, placing it among the Selective Achievers. Graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of St Thomas (MN) rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#526

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 48
Access & reach
National percentile: 36
Affordability
National percentile: 23
Return on investment
National percentile: 91

01 / University of St Thomas (MN) briefing

University of St Thomas (MN) cost & financial aid[6][7]

The University of St Thomas publishes a cost of attendance of $66,116 (an average across living arrangements), with tuition and fees at $54,398 and room and board at $14,969. After financial aid, the average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—falls to $29,155, a savings of $36,961 against the sticker price.

That average net price sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,784. Azimuth ranks the university #1,083 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The net price and the peer comparison point in the same direction: the university costs more than its peers on average, and its affordability rank reflects that gap.

The University of St Thomas publishes a cost of attendance of $66,116 (an average across living arrangements). After grants and scholarships, the average net price—what aid recipients actually pay—is $28,131 for families earning under $30,000, $24,357 for families in the $48,001–$75,000 band, and $33,232 for families earning over $110,000.

The spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $5,101. Azimuth ranks the university #1,083 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Tuition and fees are $54,398, and aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $36,961 against the sticker price. The average net price across all aid recipients is $29,155, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,784.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, the median federal student debt is $23,250. That median is below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions by $949.

Among undergraduates who take federal loans, 94.8% of federal aid recipients borrow. The estimated monthly payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program carry a separate median of $24,467. For a personalized look at costs and repayment, including Parent PLUS scenarios, try the Financial GPS tool on this site.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$24,357

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of St Thomas (MN)

Borrowing is nearly universal at the University of St Thomas, where 94.8% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $23,250.

That median sits below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $949. Parent PLUS loans, which are taken out by parents and represent a separate borrowing population, carry a median of $24,467.

The University of St Thomas combines earnings that outpace the model's prediction with borrowing that runs below the median for comparable institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $82,136, a figure in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 84th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, give a sense of the range: $52,836 in a downside case, $82,136 as the typical outcome, and $96,827 in an upside case.

The median federal student debt at completion is $23,250, which is $949 below the $24,199 median 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, a separate parent-borrower population, is $24,467. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $264.

For a personalized family cost analysis, use the Financial GPS tool.

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

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / University of St Thomas (MN) briefing

University of St Thomas (MN) career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates of University of St Thomas earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 84th 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 $11,010.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $565. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $2,363.

Four years after completion, completers earn a median of $82,136, a level in the 90th percentile nationally. That is above the peer median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $13,886.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 91st percentile. Strong earnings beyond expectations and a wide lead over the peer median point the same way: the university's return profile is one of its clearest strengths.

Four years after completion, the median earnings of University of St Thomas graduates stand at $82,136, placing the university in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the median of $68,250 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $13,886, and the earnings cohort includes 1,563 completers.

Graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 84th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome that aligns with the observed median, alongside a downside scenario of $52,836 and an upside scenario reaching $96,827.

An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Federally aided graduates of University of St Thomas who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $82,136 four years after completion, placing earnings in the 90th percentile. The university sits $13,886 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #127 for return overall among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates actually earn and what the model expects for similar students.

They earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Of the gap, the part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,010. The remainder it does not explain subtracts $565.

The STEM component, inside the measured factors, adds $2,363. The program mix centers on business, alongside engineering and the biological sciences.

Earnings scenarios estimated from that program mix run from a downside of $52,836 to an upside of $96,827. An estimated 30.2% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

Earnings vary by program at University of St Thomas. The earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $52,836 on the downside to $96,827 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $82,136.

At the higher end, Management Science graduates earn a median of $108,187 four years after completion, from 38 degrees awarded a year. Computer Science is close behind at $107,938, with 53 degrees awarded. The gap between the downside scenario and the top-earning programs is wide.

At the University of St Thomas, graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students. That earnings strength coincides with a median federal student debt of $23,250 for borrowers who complete a degree.

That figure is below the median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on that debt is $264.

The average net price for aid recipients, what they pay after grants and scholarships, is $29,155. That runs above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,784.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, carry a median of $24,467. Above-expected earnings and a debt level that sits below the peer median point the same way for graduates of the University of St Thomas.

The average net price is above the peer median, while the return pillar sits in the 91st percentile nationally.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$11,010
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$565
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$10,445

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 St Thomas (MN) briefing

University of St Thomas (MN) acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of St Thomas admits 85.4% of applicants, a rate that sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
85.4%
Approximate lower endpoint
1260
Reported average
1296
Approximate upper endpoint
1423

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 St Thomas (MN) briefing

What are the largest majors at University of St Thomas (MN)?[12]

The university's highest-earning bachelor's programs cluster in quantitative business and engineering fields. Management Science leads at $108,187 four years after completion on 38 degrees awarded, and Computer Science follows closely at $107,938 with 53 degrees awarded.

Finance, the second-largest program on campus at 175 degrees awarded, reaches $93,720. Among the largest programs, earnings vary by field.

Business Administration and Management, the most-awarded degree at 181 degrees, shows a median of $82,396. Psychology sits lower at $59,398 on 80 degrees awarded, illustrating the wide earnings spread across programs at the institution.

Business is the dominant family at University of St Thomas, accounting for 42.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded. Biological Sciences and Engineering are the next largest, each at 8.4%.

The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, awarding 181 degrees a year. Its graduates earn a median of $82,396 four years after completion.

The best-paid program is a smaller one. Management Science graduates earn $108,187, from 38 degrees a year. Computer Science is close behind at $107,938, with 53 degrees awarded.

The University of St Thomas awards nearly half its bachelor's degrees in business fields: Business accounts for 42.1% of degrees awarded, with Biological Sciences and Engineering tied at 8.4% each. The university has 22 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 181 degrees awarded, followed by Finance at 175 and Marketing at 141. The highest-earning program is a smaller one: Management Science graduates earn a median of $108,187 four years after completion, from 38 degrees awarded.

Computer Science is close behind at $107,938, with 53 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs, Finance posts the strongest earnings at $93,720, and Mechanical Engineering follows at $91,683 from 80 degrees awarded.

Psychology, tied with Mechanical Engineering in size at 80 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $59,398. The pattern is a business-heavy campus where the largest programs and the best-paid ones overlap considerably: Finance and Mechanical Engineering appear on both lists.

The earnings spread between the top and bottom of the five largest programs is wide, and the highest-earning programs are concentrated in quantitative business and engineering fields. 24.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM, a share that sits alongside a business majority rather than replacing it.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 181 degrees awarded
$82,396
Finance and Financial Management Services 175 degrees awarded
$93,720
Marketing 141 degrees awarded
$77,870
Mechanical Engineering 80 degrees awarded
$91,683
Psychology, General 80 degrees awarded
$59,398
Biology, General 78 degrees awarded
$71,619

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 St Thomas (MN) briefing

How does University of St Thomas (MN) serve students from different backgrounds?

The University of St Thomas is among the Selective Achievers group in Azimuth's mobility framework, with its pillar landing in the 48th percentile nationally. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 76.4%, while Pell recipients complete at 61.1%, a figure that trails the overall rate by 15.3 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $10,445 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that places the earnings beyond expectations measure in the 84th percentile.

Access at University of St Thomas is below average among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 36th percentile.

The university admits 85.4% of applicants, a rate above the peer median of 71.2% for comparable private nonprofit universities. Pell Grant recipients account for 21.8% of the 6,245 undergraduates, and an estimated 12.1% enter as transfers or part-time students.

The combination of a high admission rate and a modest Pell share shapes the access profile.

06 / University of St Thomas (MN) briefing

What colleges are similar to University of St Thomas (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 University of St Thomas (MN).

Admissions peerBethel University87.8% admitted
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)Bethel University
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$70,633-$11,503 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$28,556-$599 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate85.4%87.8%
Explore Bethel University →
Higher-admission alternativeCalifornia State University-East Bay97.4% admitted
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)California State University-East Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$72,596-$9,540 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$9,320-$19,835 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate85.4%97.4%
Explore California State University-East Bay →
Nearby alternativeSaint Johns UniversityNearby option · MN
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)Saint Johns University
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$72,829-$9,307 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$25,672-$3,483 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate85.4%90.6%
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis$131,813 earnings
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$131,813+$49,677 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$31,817+$2,662 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · higher cost
Admission rate85.4%89.8%
Explore University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis →
Lower-cost alternativeSaint Mary's University of Minnesota$11,704 average net price
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$72,502-$9,634 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$11,704-$17,451 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate85.4%92.8%
Similar profileMaryville University of Saint LouisMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of St Thomas (MN)
MeasureUniversity of St Thomas (MN)Maryville University of Saint Louis
Peer earnings · 4 years$82,136$84,871+$2,735 vs University of St Thomas (MN)
Average annual net price$29,155$22,066-$7,089 vs University of St Thomas (MN) · lower cost
Admission rate85.4%95.1%
Explore Maryville University of Saint Louis →

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