College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

West Texas A & M University

TXMedium public institution · Overall rank #458 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth’s composite places the university in the 69th percentile.

Who it’s a good fit for

West Texas A & M University is a public university in Canyon, Texas, with a degree mix led by Business, Health Professions, and Liberal Arts & General Studies. Mobility is well above average, and most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them, yet the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. Return is modestly below average.

The model attributes the gain to the factors it measures, and the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from it. Pell students complete below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Access is above average and affordability is above average. Families at the bottom of the income scale pay less than the published cost, and those at the top pay closer to it.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. The degree mix is oriented toward business and health professions.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones — Mechanical Engineering and Nursing — are not the largest.

West Texas A & M University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
98.7%
Six-year completion[2]
55.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$55,166

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$19,268
Median student debt[4]
$19,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$12,719

West Texas A & M University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

West Texas A & M University is a public university in Canyon, Texas, enrolling 6,917 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits above the midpoint among nonprofit four-year institutions (69th percentile).

The university admits 98.7% of applicants, against a peer median of 85.9% at comparable institutions (same type and size). Of students who start full time, 69.6% return for a second year, compared with a median of 73.7% for similar schools.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 55.0%, against a peer median of 49.1%. An estimated 42.9% of students enter as transfers or part-time students, so the graduation figure covers a portion of the people who study here.

Mobility is the strongest of the four (80th percentile), while return is the weakest. Access and affordability cluster together in the upper-middle range.

The spread between the strongest and weakest pillars is wide, with return sitting far below the other three.

Mobility is the clearest strength at West Texas A & M University, whereas return is the weaker part of its Azimuth profile. Azimuth places the university's mobility pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth places access in the 69th percentile and affordability in the 70th percentile nationally. Return stands in the 39th percentile, so the school’s stronger access, affordability, and mobility results sit alongside a less favorable return result.

The undergraduate body here draws heavily from students with financial need, and 41.1% of those currently enrolled receive Pell Grants through the federal need-based grant program. The access pillar rests on both the reach of financial aid and the completion rate of the students on campus who receive that support.

Pell Grant recipients finish at 43.0%, a figure that sits 12.0 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (55.0%) for the entering cohort. Azimuth ranks West Texas A & M University #457 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Mobility outranks access in the Azimuth ranking framework. Azimuth ranks the university #301 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students, an earnings result that matches the university's showing on the mobility pillar.

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

West Texas A & M University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#458
Texas#38
South#161

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 80
Access & reach
National percentile: 69
Affordability
National percentile: 70
Return on investment
National percentile: 39

Top-ranked majors

  1. Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft#15
  2. Agricultural Business and Management#46
  3. Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General#48

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / West Texas A & M University briefing

West Texas A & M University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At West Texas A & M University, the published cost of attendance is $23,482. In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $6,672 and required fees of $2,992 for the 2025-26 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $15,802.

Out-of-state students face a tuition of $8,384. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $19,487.

Grants and scholarships reduce the sticker price by an average of $3,995 for aid recipients. That net price is $5,419 above the $14,068 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #429 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

At West Texas A & M University, the published cost of attendance is $23,482, but aid-recipient costs differ across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,525 for the lowest family-income band; $17,218 for the next-lowest band; $19,268 for the middle band; $22,454 for the next-highest band; and $23,439 for the highest family-income band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $6,914, a difference between band averages rather than a family bill. Azimuth ranks the university #429 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Across all aid recipients, is $19,487, with average aid reducing the published cost by $3,995. Aid covers about 17% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $14,068, placing the university's average net price $5,419 above it. The aid offset reduces the listed cost, though average net price remains above the comparable-school midpoint.

Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,500, and 80.1% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, putting this debt figure $1,729 below the peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $12,719.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$19,268

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at West Texas A & M University

At West Texas A & M University, 80.1% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Among those who finish, the median federal student loan debt at completion is $19,500.

The peer median federal debt among comparable institutions (same type and size) is $21,229, and the university's median is $1,729 below that figure. Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate population, have a median debt of $12,719.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 87% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $24,849 per borrower. This group included 46% of graduates with federal loans averaging $22,150. It also included 7% of graduates with private loans averaging $22,485.

Graduates of West Texas A & M University earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Median earnings four years after completion are $55,166, in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios range from $45,029 in the downside case to $76,971 in the upside case, with $55,166 as the typical scenario; they are scenarios, not observed groups.

Median federal student loan debt at completion is $19,500, below the $21,229 peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $1,729. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years.

Higher-than-expected earnings and lower debt point the same way, even though the four-year earnings percentile is lower.

Parent PLUS borrowing is a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $12,719. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 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
$19,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$12,719

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$222/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$162/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 / West Texas A & M University briefing

West Texas A & M University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Graduates earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 63rd percentile.

Azimuth places the university at the 39th percentile for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $55,166, at the 33rd percentile.

That is $2,135 below the $57,301 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $2,338.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $183. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $246.

West Texas A & M University graduates have median earnings of $55,166 four years after completion, for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,532 completers.

Graduates earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students. The typical earnings scenario matches the reported median, while the downside scenario is $45,029 and the upside scenario is $76,971.

These are scenarios based on the program mix, not observed groups. An estimated 26.9% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

The overall median and the model’s expectation comparison describe different parts of the earnings picture.

At West Texas A & M University, median earnings are $55,166 four years after completion; Azimuth places that figure in the 33rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. It is $2,135 below the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $57,301.

Graduates earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 63rd 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 $2,338. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $183.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $246. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from a downside of $45,029 to an upside of $76,971.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 39th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, so above-expected earnings sit alongside a lower earnings position relative to comparable institutions. Mechanical Engineering has the highest listed program earnings: 35 degrees awarded and median earnings of $93,938 four years after completion.

Its earnings are 1.02x the national median for its field. Nursing awarded 126 degrees and has median earnings of $79,583, with a 0.90x field benchmark.

Finance awarded 78 degrees and has median earnings of $66,534, at 0.80x of the national median for its field. The range across these fields makes the school-wide median a summary rather than a single program outcome.

Earnings vary substantially by field, so the earnings scenarios offer a wider view than the schoolwide median alone. The downside scenario is $45,029, while the upside scenario reaches $76,971; these are earnings scenarios, not observed groups.

23 fields have published earnings data. Nursing is at $79,583, and Business Administration and Management is at $71,979.

Those field results show why the modeled range extends well above its downside scenario.

Borrowers who complete at West Texas A & M University carry less federal student loan debt than the comparable-institution median, though aid recipients face a higher average net price. Median federal student loan debt for borrowers who complete is $19,500, below $21,229 at comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $1,729.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $222 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $2,155 more than the model expects for similar students.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $19,487; it is above the $14,068 peer median by $5,419. Lower borrower debt and a higher average net price pull in different directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$2,338
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$183
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$2,155

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 / West Texas A & M University briefing

West Texas A & M University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

For the reported entering class, West Texas A & M University admitted 98.7% of applicants, meaning most applicants in that pool received admission.

The admission rate was above the median of 85.9% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
98.7%
25th percentile
950
Median
1060
75th percentile
1150

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

Read the full admissions brief

04 / West Texas A & M University briefing

What are the largest majors at West Texas A & M University?[12]

The highest-earning program at West Texas A & M University is Mechanical Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $93,938 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #113 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field, from 35 degrees awarded a year.

Nursing is both the second-highest earner and the third-largest program, with 126 degrees awarded and a median of $79,583. Azimuth ranks it #254 in its field.

At the more moderate end, the largest program is Liberal Arts and General Studies, with 173 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,618. Azimuth ranks it #96 nationally.

The second-largest, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, awards 154 degrees and posts a median of $49,241, ranking #72 in its field.

The largest program families at West Texas A & M University are Business, which accounts for 20.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, and Health Professions at 15.4%. Azimuth ranks 18 of the university's programs nationally, with earnings data available for 23 fields.

The largest single program is Liberal Arts and General Studies, with 173 degrees awarded and median earnings of $49,618 four years after completion. Azimuth ranks it #96 nationally.

Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies follows at 154 degrees and $49,241, ranked #72. The highest earnings come from Mechanical Engineering, at $93,938 from 35 degrees a year.

Azimuth ranks it #113 nationally. The best-ranked program is Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, at #15 nationally with 28 degrees awarded and median earnings of $47,175.

The program mix at West Texas A & M University leans toward professional fields. Business accounts for 20.1% of bachelor's degrees awarded, followed by Health Professions at 15.4% and Liberal Arts & General Studies at 10.6%.

The largest programs are Liberal Arts and General Studies at 173 degrees awarded, Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies at 154, and Nursing at 126. The university has 18 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 23 with published four-year earnings data.

Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft is the highest-ranked program, with 28 degrees awarded and median earnings of $47,175 four years after completion. It ranks #3 in Texas within its field and carries a benchmark ratio of 1.19x against the national median for its field.

Agricultural Business and Management also stands out, ranking #46 nationally within its field with 40 degrees awarded and median earnings of $51,103. Mechanical Engineering is the highest-earning program, where graduates earn a median of $93,938 four years out from 35 degrees awarded a year.

Strength is concentrated in a handful of programs, with the top-ranked fields in theatre and agriculture sitting alongside the highest earners in engineering and nursing. The largest programs by volume are not the highest-paid, but several carry solid national ranks. Across all fields, 11.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities 173 degrees awarded
$49,618
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other 154 degrees awarded
$49,241
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 126 degrees awarded
$79,583
Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences, General 109 degrees awarded
$51,397
Business Administration, Management and Operations 80 degrees awarded
$71,979
Finance and Financial Management Services 78 degrees awarded
$66,534

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 / West Texas A & M University briefing

How does West Texas A & M University serve students from different backgrounds?

Mobility is the strongest pillar here, pairing completion figures with higher-than-expected earnings. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 55.0%, while Pell recipients complete at 43.0%, below the overall rate by 12.0 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 80th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $2,155 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, sits in the 63rd percentile. The mobility percentile and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Broad admission and a sizable transfer presence define access at West Texas A & M University in Canyon. It admits 98.7% of applicants and enrolls 6,917 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients account for 41.1% of undergraduates, and an estimated 42.9% arrive as transfers or part-time students. Azimuth places the access pillar in the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The open admission pattern and transfer presence describe a broad entry point.

06 / West Texas A & M University briefing

What colleges are similar to West Texas A & M 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 West Texas A & M University.

Admissions peerNortheastern State University99.6% admitted
Comparison with West Texas A & M University
MeasureWest Texas A & M UniversityNortheastern State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,166$50,752-$4,414 vs West Texas A & M University
Average annual net price$19,487$12,710-$6,777 vs West Texas A & M University · lower cost
Admission rate98.7%99.6%
Explore Northeastern State University →
Nearby alternativeWayland Baptist UniversityNearby option · TX
Comparison with West Texas A & M University
MeasureWest Texas A & M UniversityWayland Baptist University
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,166$56,530+$1,364 vs West Texas A & M University
Average annual net price$19,487$20,590+$1,103 vs West Texas A & M University · higher cost
Admission rate98.7%56.0%
Higher-earnings alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy$108,757 earnings
Comparison with West Texas A & M University
MeasureWest Texas A & M UniversityCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,166$108,757+$53,591 vs West Texas A & M University
Average annual net price$19,487$20,555+$1,068 vs West Texas A & M University · higher cost
Admission rate98.7%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Lower-cost alternativeEastern New Mexico University-Main Campus$4,904 average net price
Comparison with West Texas A & M University
MeasureWest Texas A & M UniversityEastern New Mexico University-Main Campus
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,166$54,827-$339 vs West Texas A & M University
Average annual net price$19,487$4,904-$14,583 vs West Texas A & M University · lower cost
Admission rate98.7%91.7%
Similar profileTexas Southern UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with West Texas A & M University
MeasureWest Texas A & M UniversityTexas Southern University
Peer earnings · 4 years$55,166$55,112-$54 vs West Texas A & M University
Average annual net price$19,487$16,590-$2,897 vs West Texas A & M University · lower cost
Admission rate98.7%96.9%
Explore Texas Southern 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