College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

WIMedium public institution · Overall rank #519 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point #519 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is a public university in Wisconsin whose largest program families are Natural Resources & Conservation and Education. Mobility is well above average.

Graduates earn less than what predicts for students like them. The typical graduate also earns below the median at comparable schools.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, while the part it cannot explain subtracts. Pell recipients finish at a rate above the entering cohort as a whole.

Affordability is well above average. Low-income families pay less than the published cost, and high-income families pay closer to it.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the highest-earning fields are much smaller.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
91.8%
Six-year completion[2]
50.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$51,548

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$11,428
Median student debt[4]
$21,503
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$14,012

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

7,306 undergraduates enroll at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, a public university in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point lands in the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (65th percentile).

The campus admits 91.8% of those who apply, against a peer median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size). 73.8% of full-time first-year students continue into the second year, against a peer median of 73.7%.

The six-year graduation rate is 50.8%, against a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 19.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a first-time full-time cohort that is not the whole student body.

Mobility is the strongest (at the 85th percentile) and return is the weakest (at the 23rd percentile). Affordability and access sit between them, at the 78th and 53rd percentiles respectively. The four pillars are spread wide and do not move together.

Mobility is the clearest strength at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, even though return is its weakest pillar. Azimuth places the public university's mobility pillar in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, affordability is in the 78th percentile, access in the 53rd percentile, and return in the 23rd percentile. Strong mobility and affordability sit beside a much weaker return result.

The middle 50% of submitted ACT scores at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point fell between 20 and 26. 28.7% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants.

Azimuth ranks the university #697 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients complete at 60.9%, which sits 10.1 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate for the entering cohort (50.8%).

Azimuth ranks the university #220 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,432 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#519

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 85
Access & reach
National percentile: 53
Affordability
National percentile: 78
Return on investment
National percentile: 23

01 / University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point cost & financial aid[6][7]

For University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, aid lowers the published annual cost for recipients, but its average price remains somewhat higher than at comparable schools. The published cost of attendance is $20,079, with room and board listed at $8,800.

In-state tuition and fees are $9,488, compared with $18,508 for out-of-state tuition and fees. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,559.

Financial aid saves $5,520 against the sticker cost on average, and aid covers about 27% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The peer median net price at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $14,068, leaving this average $491 above that benchmark.

Azimuth places the university in the 78th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid reduces the published charge substantially, though the peer comparison points to a somewhat higher .

Costs at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point vary considerably across family-income bands after grants and scholarships. The published cost of attendance is $20,079.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $8,833 for the lowest family-income band, $9,609 for the next band, $11,428 for the middle band, $17,042 for the upper-middle band, and $18,737 for the highest family-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $9,904.

Azimuth ranks the university #311 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Across aid recipients, the average net price is $14,559, and aid covers about 27% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, offsetting $5,520 against the sticker price.

That average is $491 above the peer median net price of $14,068 for comparable institutions (same type and size). In-state tuition and fees are $9,488, out-of-state tuition and fees are $18,508, and room and board are $8,800.

The overall price sits somewhat above the comparable-school median despite aid reducing the published cost for recipients. Federal borrowing is common among undergraduates, with 91.0% taking federal loans.

For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $21,503, which is $274 above the peer median of $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $14,012.

The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,428

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Federal borrowing is common at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where 91.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $21,503.

The median is above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $274. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $14,012.

At University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the available earnings and borrowing figures point in the same direction for the investment picture. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $51,548 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $9,432 less than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations in the 21st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios range from $43,188 in a downside scenario to $69,666 in an upside scenario, with $51,548 in the typical scenario.

Median federal student debt at completion is $21,503, above the $21,229 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $274. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings below expectations and debt above the peer median point the same way.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $14,012. For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 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
$21,503
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$14,012

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$244/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$178/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 Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

At University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, mobility is the strongest pillar, and return is the weakest pillar. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $9,432 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that modeled gap in the 21st 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 $2,250. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $11,682.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $51,548. Azimuth puts that earnings level in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Compared with the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301, it is $5,753 below. The model and peer comparisons point in the same direction.

At University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled report median earnings of $51,548 four years after completion. Azimuth places this earnings measure in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 2,350 completers.

A typical earnings scenario, based on the program mix, is $51,548, with a downside scenario of $43,188 and an upside scenario of $69,666. Graduates earn about $9,432 less than the model expects for similar students.

This is earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students. An estimated 31.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The scenario range shows variation across program mixes, while the model places overall earnings below expectations.

The return figures trail both the peer comparison and the model expectation. Federally aided completers from University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have median earnings of $51,548 four years after completion, placing the university in the 22nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That is below the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301 by $5,753. Graduates earn about $9,432 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, falls in the 21st 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 $2,250.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $11,682. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $163.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from a downside of $43,188 to an upside of $69,666. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 23rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer comparison and model result point in the same direction. Chemical Engineering has the highest published program median, with 18 degrees awarded and median earnings of $100,375 four years after completion, or 1.02x of the national median for its field.

Paper Science and Engineering awarded 15 degrees and reports median earnings of $99,625 four years after completion, equal to 0.98x of its field's national median. Nursing awarded 29 degrees, with median earnings of $81,789 four years after completion and 0.92x of the national median for its field.

These program figures vary in how they compare with their national field medians.

At University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, earnings scenarios show a broad earnings spread across the program mix. The downside scenario places earnings at $43,188, and the upside scenario reaches $69,666.

These are earnings scenarios rather than observed groups. Paper Science and Engineering completers earn $99,625, and Computer Software and Media Applications completers earn $84,809. The program figures show how the modeled range can differ by field.

The cost-and-return picture is mixed at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point: median debt and average net price both sit above peer medians. Borrowers who completed have median federal student loan debt of $21,503, above the $21,229 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $9,432 less than the model expects for similar students.

For aid recipients, average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $14,559 overall and above the peer median of $14,068. By family income, the average net price is $8,833 for families earning under thirty thousand dollars; $9,609 for families earning thirty thousand one dollars to forty-eight thousand dollars; $11,428 for families earning forty-eight thousand one dollars to seventy-five thousand dollars; $17,042 for families earning seventy-five thousand one dollars to one hundred ten thousand dollars; and $18,737 for families earning over one hundred ten thousand dollars.

The price and debt comparisons point in the same direction as the model’s earnings assessment.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,250
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$11,682
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$9,432

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 Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point admits 91.8% of applicants. The median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size) sits close by, so the university is not markedly more or less open than its peers.

Admissions
Admission rate
91.8%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

What are the largest majors at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point?[12]

Program choice matters at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where higher-earning fields sit apart from some of the largest offerings. Chemical Engineering has median earnings of $100,375 four years after completion, with 18 degrees awarded.

Paper Science and Engineering is close behind at $99,625 and 15 degrees awarded. Among larger programs, Business Administration and Management records $64,760 four years after completion across 96 degrees awarded, while Teacher Education records $45,181 across 108 degrees awarded.

The contrast between those moderate-earning fields and the higher-earning programs makes field selection central to the earnings picture.

Program earnings vary widely across the 37 fields with published data, giving applicants reason to look past the schoolwide result.

Natural Resources & Conservation accounts for 16.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, with Education second at 15.4% and Business at 11.2%. The university publishes four-year earnings data for 37 bachelor's programs.

The largest single program is Teacher Education, at 108 bachelor's degrees awarded a year, followed by Business Administration and Management at 96 and Biology at 86. Chemical Engineering is the highest-earning program, with its graduates earning $100,375 four years after completion from 18 degrees awarded.

Paper Science and Engineering follows at $99,625, from 15 degrees awarded a year. Computer Software and Media Applications graduates earn $84,809 from only 7 degrees awarded, a benchmark ratio of 1.44x when measured against the national median for its field.

Nursing is next at $81,789, from 29 degrees awarded a year. Across all bachelor's degree fields, 9.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

The five biggest programs all sit below the national median for their respective fields. The best-paid programs are much smaller than the largest ones overall.

Chemical Engineering awards fewer degrees a year than any of the five largest programs.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 108 degrees awarded
$45,181
Business Administration, Management and Operations 96 degrees awarded
$64,760
Biology, General 86 degrees awarded
$52,187
Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy 85 degrees awarded
$53,642
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas 85 degrees awarded
$47,537
Psychology, General 69 degrees awarded
$51,024

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 Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

How does University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the university's clearest strength: Azimuth places its mobility pillar in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 50.8%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 60.9%, above the overall rate by 10.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $9,432 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, sits in the 21st percentile.

High completion alongside a negative earnings-expectations result leaves a mixed mobility picture.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point combines broad admission with a middle-range access standing: 91.8% of applicants are admitted, and Azimuth puts its access pillar in the 53rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Undergraduate enrollment is 7,306 undergraduates.

Pell Grants reach 28.7% of undergraduates, and an estimated 19.7% enter as transfers or part-time students. These measures describe the routes into the university's undergraduate body.

06 / University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point briefing

What colleges are similar to University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point?[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 Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

Admissions peerBellin College97.2% admitted
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointBellin College
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,548$77,238+$25,690 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Average annual net price$14,559$37,408+$22,849 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point · higher cost
Admission rate91.8%97.2%
Nearby alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-Green BayNearby option · WI
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointUniversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,548$54,344+$2,796 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Average annual net price$14,559$13,369-$1,190 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point · lower cost
Admission rate91.8%88.6%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Green Bay →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-Oshkosh$59,730 earnings
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointUniversity of Wisconsin-Oshkosh
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,548$59,730+$8,182 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Average annual net price$14,559$14,305-$254 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point · lower cost
Admission rate91.8%86.5%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh →
Lower-cost alternativeSan Diego Christian College$992 average net price
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointSan Diego Christian College
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,548$50,741-$807 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Average annual net price$14,559$992-$13,567 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point · lower cost
Admission rate91.8%30.8%
Similar profileSoutheast Missouri State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
MeasureUniversity of Wisconsin-Stevens PointSoutheast Missouri State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$51,548$51,502-$46 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Average annual net price$14,559$15,882+$1,323 vs University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point · higher cost
Admission rate91.8%73.5%
Explore Southeast Missouri 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