College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Webster University

MOMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #673 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

An Azimuth overall placement in the 54th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Webster University is a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, Missouri, where the degree mix is led by Visual & Performing Arts and Business. Return is the strongest , well above average, while mobility is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, and the model attributes more of that to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures. The typical graduate also earns above the median at comparable schools, so the raw and adjusted results point the same way.

The net price for the lowest income band sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete at a rate below the overall cohort, and mobility is below the levels seen at many peers.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools, and the largest programs are in the arts and business. A student drawn to the largest departments should know that the highest-earning programs are in computer science and accounting, fields that award far fewer degrees.

Webster University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
86.2%
Six-year completion[2]
64.4%
Four-year earnings[3]
$75,697

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$27,257
Median student debt[4]
$23,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$13,587

Webster University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Webster University is a private nonprofit university in Saint Louis, Missouri, enrolling 2,304 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (at the 54th percentile).

Most applicants receive an offer from Webster University: 86.2% are admitted, against a median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among students who start full time, 68.7% return after the first year, compared with a median of 83.4% for those peers.

64.4% complete within six years, against a comparable-institution median of 68.8%. An estimated 30.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes only a minority of the people who study there.

Return is the strongest of the four pillars (at the 88th percentile), while mobility is the weakest (at the 10th percentile). Access and affordability fall between them (at the 37th and 34th percentiles). The four pillars do not cluster tightly together.

Return is the clearest strength for Webster University, which Azimuth places in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university also has access in the 37th percentile and affordability in the 34th percentile.

Mobility is the weakest pillar, at the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The strong return reading sits beside more modest access, affordability, and mobility readings.

Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores posted a middle 50% range of 1,110 to 1,310. Those who submitted ACT scores landed between 18 and 25.

28.8% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Pell recipients finish at 48.1%, 16.3 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

For access, Azimuth places the university at #918 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $19,248 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth ranks Webster University #1,319 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

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

Webster University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#673

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 10
Access & reach
National percentile: 37
Affordability
National percentile: 34
Return on investment
National percentile: 88

01 / Webster University briefing

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

Webster University has a published cost of attendance of $51,188, including $31,750 in tuition and fees and $12,318 for room and board. For aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $27,047.

Financial aid offsets $24,141 of the published price on average, though an individual bill can differ from that average. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $27,371, making the university’s average $324 below that benchmark.

Azimuth places its affordability pillar in the 34th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The aid reduction is substantial, but the resulting average price remains somewhat higher than the comparable-school midpoint.

At Webster University, the published cost of attendance is $51,188, and aid changes the price across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $22,359 for the lowest family-income band, $22,083 for the lower-middle band, $27,257 for the middle band, $29,315 for the upper-middle band, and $31,314 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,955. Azimuth ranks the university #934 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 47% of the published cost and offsets $24,141 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, the is $27,047, which is $324 below the peer median of $27,371, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $31,750, with room and board listed at $12,318. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,000, and 88.8% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

This is $1,199 below the peer median debt of $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing for parent borrowers is $13,587.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$27,257

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Webster University

At Webster University, federal borrowing reaches 88.8% of federal aid recipients, making loan use part of the cost picture for many students. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $23,000.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $24,199, and the university's median is $1,199 below that benchmark. Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $13,587.

The below-peer median sits alongside federal borrowing that reaches a large share of undergraduates.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of Webster University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $75,697. That figure is at the 84th percentile nationally and sits $7,447 above the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $19,248 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome at the 95th percentile. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, show the range a graduate might encounter.

On the borrowing side, completers who took federal loans carry a median debt of $23,000. That is $1,199 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), which is $24,199.

The debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $13,587, a figure for a separate parent-borrower population. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 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
$23,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$13,587

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$261/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$173/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 / Webster University briefing

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

For Webster University, the return evidence points upward: Azimuth puts the university’s return pillar in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $19,248 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 95th 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 $1,051.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $18,197. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $377.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $75,697 four years after completion, in the 84th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $68,250, with earnings $7,447 above it. Above-expected earnings and the peer comparison point the same way.

Webster University offers a high early-career earnings reference point, with graduates reaching $75,697 four years after completion. That median covers federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Azimuth places the earnings measure in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawing on an earnings cohort of 1,740 completers. Graduates earn about $19,248 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides a modeled comparison rather than a personal forecast. An estimated 26.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The high earnings standing and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.

At $75,697, Webster University has a favorable return picture four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. That median is in the 84th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, placing the university’s figure $7,447 above it. Graduates earn about $19,248 more 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 95th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $1,051.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $18,197. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $377.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Program-level earnings vary across the university’s larger and higher-earning fields.

Business Administration and Management is the largest listed program, with 98 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,567 four years after completion. Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft adds a lower-earning large field, with 53 degrees awarded and median earnings of $39,604 four years after completion.

At Webster University, earnings vary across earnings scenarios and fields. At the field level, median earnings four years after completion are $66,113 for Computer Science, $65,389 for Accounting, and $56,671 for Biology.

Those field medians show variation within the university’s broader earnings picture.

At Webster University, borrowers who complete have lower federal student loan debt than the peer midpoint, alongside earnings above the model’s expectation. Median federal student loan debt is $23,000 among borrowers who completed, excluding Parent PLUS borrowing.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199; the university’s figure is below it by $1,199. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $261 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $19,248 more 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 a modeled comparison rather than a personal forecast. Lower borrower debt and above-expected earnings point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$1,051
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$18,197
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$19,248

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 / Webster University briefing

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

Webster University admitted 86.2% of its reported applicant pool, a broad published admission outcome for that cycle. The rate stands above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The figure records decisions for that applicant pool rather than forecasting an individual result.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
86.2%
Approximate lower endpoint
1110
Reported average
1102
Approximate upper endpoint
1310

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 / Webster University briefing

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

Webster University has its highest published program earnings in Computer Science, rather than in its largest degree-award program. Four years after completion, Computer Science shows median earnings of $66,113 and 40 degrees awarded; Accounting records $65,389 with 6 degrees awarded.

Business Administration and Management, the largest of these programs, has median earnings of $62,567 and 98 degrees awarded. At a more moderate level, Biology reports $56,671 across 32 degrees awarded.

The figures place computing and accounting above the larger business program, with biology at a more moderate earnings level.

Visual & Performing Arts makes up 22.9% of bachelor’s degrees awarded at Webster University, and the larger fields show markedly different earnings. Published earnings cover 13 bachelor’s fields, with each figure measuring median earnings four years after completion.

Among the larger programs, Business Administration and Management awarded 98 degrees and had median earnings of $62,567 four years after completion.

The bachelor's degree mix at Webster University is led by the arts, with Visual & Performing Arts accounting for 22.9% of degrees awarded, ahead of Business at 17.0% and Communication & Journalism at 8.4%. Across 13 programs with published four-year earnings, the largest single program is Business Administration and Management at 98 degrees awarded.

Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft follows with 53, and Computer Science with 40. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn a median of $66,113 four years after completion.

Accounting, a much smaller program at 6 degrees a year, follows at $65,389. Business Administration and Management, the largest program, is the third-highest-earning at $62,567, while Biology and Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication round out the top five at $56,671 and $54,217.

Earnings vary widely by field, with the business and computing programs reporting higher medians than the arts programs. The three highest-earning programs all sit above the medians of the two largest programs outside that group, Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft and Education. Across all fields, 12.3% of degrees are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 98 degrees awarded
$62,567
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft 53 degrees awarded
$39,604
Computer Science 40 degrees awarded
$66,113
Education, General 39 degrees awarded
$45,411
Film/Video and Photographic Arts 36 degrees awarded
$35,407
Biology, General 32 degrees awarded
$56,671

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 / Webster University briefing

How does Webster University serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion is a weaker part of the mobility picture, even as modeled earnings are high. For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate is 64.4%; Pell recipients complete within six years at 48.1%, below the overall rate by 16.3 percentage points.

Azimuth puts mobility in the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 95th percentile.

Graduates earn about $19,248 more than the model expects for similar students. Completion and modeled earnings point in different directions.

Webster University admits 86.2% of applicants, making entry a central part of its access picture. Undergraduate enrollment is 2,304, with Pell Grants reaching 28.8% of undergraduates and an estimated 30.8% entering as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth assigns the access pillar to the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission rate, Pell participation, and transfer presence show several routes into a university of this undergraduate size.

06 / Webster University briefing

What colleges are similar to Webster 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 Webster University.

Admissions peerUniversity of Illinois Springfield85.9% admitted
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversityUniversity of Illinois Springfield
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$63,235-$12,462 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$9,833-$17,214 vs Webster University · lower cost
Admission rate86.2%85.9%
Explore University of Illinois Springfield →
Higher-admission alternativeSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville97.5% admitted
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversitySouthern Illinois University Edwardsville
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$65,199-$10,498 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$14,889-$12,158 vs Webster University · lower cost
Admission rate86.2%97.5%
Explore Southern Illinois University Edwardsville →
Nearby alternativeSaint Louis UniversityNearby option · MO
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversitySaint Louis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$77,024+$1,327 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$24,398-$2,649 vs Webster University · lower cost
Admission rate86.2%75.0%
Explore Saint Louis University →
Higher-earnings alternativeYeshivas Be'er Yitzchok$95,988 earnings
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversityYeshivas Be'er Yitzchok
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$95,988+$20,291 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$28,599+$1,552 vs Webster University · higher cost
Admission rate86.2%86.2%
Explore Yeshivas Be'er Yitzchok →
Lower-cost alternativeSouthern Illinois University Edwardsville$14,889 average net price
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversitySouthern Illinois University Edwardsville
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$65,199-$10,498 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$14,889-$12,158 vs Webster University · lower cost
Admission rate86.2%97.5%
Explore Southern Illinois University Edwardsville →
Similar profileMarian UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Webster University
MeasureWebster UniversityMarian University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,697$72,150-$3,547 vs Webster University
Average annual net price$27,047$24,018-$3,029 vs Webster University · lower cost
Admission rate86.2%95.5%

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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