I am not going to tell you whether it is the right school for your child. No article can tell you that, because it depends on what your child wants to study, what your family can afford, and how far you are willing to move. What I can do is show you, using the figures the federal government collects from this institution, what kind of place it is. With that information in hand, you can decide whether it is worth investigating further.
A Small Town, a Small School, and a Close-Knit Community
McPherson College is classified as a four-year baccalaureate college with diverse fields of study that is very small and highly residential. That last word matters: it means that, according to the data used for this classification, at least half of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned or affiliated housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. This is not a school where people come to class and then go home. It is a school where most students live on campus.
It also appears, in a separate profile, among institutions that receive many transfer students. If your child is thinking about enrolling here after studying somewhere else, that is a reason to investigate further, not a guarantee: before assuming anything, ask in writing which courses will transfer and which will not.
The campus is in the city of McPherson, within the county of the same name, in Kansas. The surrounding setting is a remote town, not a large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, you need to calculate separately where your child would live and how your child would reach campus whenever travel back and forth is necessary. The location data tells you only where the school is; it does not tell you how long the trip from your home would take or how much it would cost.
It is a private, nonprofit institution and reports a master’s degree as the highest level it offers. That places it, in the federal classification, among institutions that primarily award bachelor’s degrees or higher-level degrees. But that institutional fact does not tell you whether the specific major your child is interested in exists there or whether it connects to a graduate program. That must be asked program by program.
McPherson College is not designated as a historically Black college or university, a Tribal College or University, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; this one does not. That does not tell you which communities it serves today or how your child would feel on that campus. You find that out by asking what student organizations and cultural centers exist right now and by talking with someone who already attends the school.
Who Will Share the Classroom With Your Child
In the fall of 2023, 17 out of every 100 undergraduate students at McPherson College identified as Hispanic or Latino. That is not a majority, but it is not uncommon either: among the 941 selective private four-year schools reporting this data, that share places it in the highest quarter of the group.
The rest of the picture is just as concrete. There are almost no adult-age students: only 2 out of every 100 are between the ages of 25 and 64. There are more men than women—out of every 100 students, 33 are women. And most first-time students did not have permanent residence in Kansas reported: only 27 out of every 100 did. The rest come from other states or other countries, or their residence was not reported; the data does not separate those categories. What it does tell you is that, if your family lives outside Kansas, your child would not be the only one arriving from somewhere else.
In terms of size, McPherson College is among the smaller schools: the official fall count shows 788 enrolled students, all undergraduates, with no graduate enrollment that semester. Compared with the 941 selective private schools in this census that report the data, it falls on the smaller side: seven out of ten, or more, have more students.
Being small does not make it better or worse. It does change how day-to-day academics work, which makes one very specific question worth asking: whether the courses in the major your child is interested in are offered every semester or only once a year. At a school of this size, that affects how long it actually takes to graduate.
How the Academic Year Is Structured and How Broad the Offerings Are
McPherson College operates on a 4-1-4 calendar: four courses during four months, one month with a single intensive course, and another four courses during the following four months. This differs from the traditional two-block semester calendar, so if your child comes from a high school accustomed to a different pace, it is worth understanding what that middle month feels like before arriving.
Regarding credits, the institution reports that it accepts credit for AP exams and military training, but it did not indicate that it accepts credit for life experience. Accepting AP credit does not mean every score counts or that the credit will apply to your child’s major. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not count those savings in your budget until you have it in hand.
In the most recent year reported, McPherson College awarded 167 bachelor’s degrees across 20 program families, some of which had no degrees awarded that year. The family awarding the most degrees was business and management, with 23 out of every 100 degrees, but no other family comes close to carrying the load: the offerings are distributed rather than concentrated in a single area. Compared with the 942 selective private schools in this census, McPherson is in the quarter awarding the fewest total degrees per year. Those 20 active families are not 20 majors in the current catalog, nor do they guarantee that the exact program your child is seeking is available; that must be verified directly.
The official student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 13 to 1. That is a low figure on the overall scale, but compared only with schools of the same type, it is above the median: half or more of that group reported an equal or lower ratio. Both things are true at the same time, and neither tells you the actual size of a classroom: IPEDS does not capture first-year class sizes in that figure.
The Academic Pathways the Institution Reports Offering
McPherson College reports offering study abroad, a complete program that can be taken only during evenings or weekends, teacher-certification preparation below the baccalaureate level, the ability to complete preparation there in certain teacher-specialization areas, and state approval of its initial teacher-certification program. These are structured pathways the school reports as available; if any of them interests your child, this is starting information for asking the appropriate program for specific details.
How the Admissions Process Works
Here is one of the most useful parts for planning. McPherson College reported that it does not have open admissions: it reviews certain items before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marked three as required: the high school record, the high school GPA, and an English-proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. Everything else—class rank, completion of a specific college-preparatory curriculum, the personal essay, recommendation letters, a portfolio or competency exam, work experience, and whether a relative attended the school—is marked as not considered in the admissions decision.
Put plainly, the report card carries the weight here. The high school record and GPA matter; the essay and letters are not marked as part of the decision. IPEDS does not say how the required items are combined or how much weight each one carries, so this does not prove that the report card is the only factor, but it does tell you which documents are worth taking care of first.
The published undergraduate application fee is $0.
And if your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English-proficiency exam applies and what would qualify your child for an exemption. This is one of those things people discover late if they do not ask in time.
How Selective It Is, in Numbers
In the 2023 cycle, McPherson College received 1,209 first-time applications and offered admission to 1,013. That is 84 out of every 100. Compared with the 942 selective private schools in this census, it is on the high-acceptance side: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, admitted an equal or smaller percentage.
Seven or eight out of every ten applicants receive a yes here. That does not make admission automatic, but it does give your child a real reason to apply and not to leave the application until the last minute. Keep in mind that this percentage comes from a single cycle, not a fixed rule of the institution: if there are more applicants in the year your child applies and the number of places does not grow, the figure could fall. Check it again when it is time to apply.
Now consider a different and perhaps more revealing figure: out of every 100 students admitted in 2023, only 24 enrolled. The other 76 had a place there and did not take it. Compared with similar schools, this share falls in the middle of the group, neither high nor low. Do not read that as a mark against the school: the federal record does not say why each person made that decision. What it does tell you is this: wait for your own letter showing the net price, which is what the year would actually cost your family. With that figure in hand, you decide whether this school stays on the list, rather than basing the decision on what other families did.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required here. If submitted, they are considered; if not, the application proceeds just the same. Among the students who enrolled, 24 out of every 100 submitted SAT scores, and the middle half of those students scored between 468 and 573 in reading and writing and between 468 and 553 in mathematics. Those ranges describe students who had already enrolled and chose to submit their scores, not all applicants, and they do not prove that a score determined anyone’s admission. That 468 is not a minimum that must be reached, nor is that 573 a guarantee of anything.
Regarding transfers, in the fall of 2023, 50 undergraduate students entered McPherson College for the first time after studying at another institution. Compared with similar schools, that count places it in the lower half, although it is a count of people that goes hand in hand with the school’s size, not a proportion. The transfer-out rate—how many students who entered here as first-time students later leave for another school—is not reported in this file. That does not demonstrate that no one transfers out; it simply is not included in the data.
The List Price, Piece by Piece
At McPherson College, among 46 full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $20,869. Among 32 students from the same population whose EFC family income was between $48,001 and $75,000, it was $25,387; among 42 students whose EFC family income was above $110,000, it was $28,232. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 46 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 42 students, is $7,363. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $25,490.
Even after grants and scholarships were deducted, the average net price for families in the lowest-income band was $20,869 in the 2022-23 academic year. If that figure does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not show how different the individual cases within that band were; these data cannot establish that some families were far below or above the published figure. The income bands in this profile describe full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
Grants, Pell, and the Debt That Accumulates Through Loans
At McPherson College, virtually 100 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received some type of grant, scholarship, or financial aid. Among those who received it, the average for the year was $22,602. That is a large figure, but it is not a price: what matters is the amount left after aid, and that figure—the net price you saw above—is what should be compared across schools, not the size of the discount.
The Pell Grant, which is federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need, reached 34 out of every 100 students.
Regarding loans, 64 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 academic year. Compared with similar selective private schools, that share is on the high side: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, had a smaller share of students with loans. Among those who borrowed, the average amount for the year was $6,413 per borrower.
Financing through debt is common here. And the simple arithmetic matters: if your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years of the degree program, the total would be around $25,652, not including interest. That calculation should be made before the first signature, not at the end of the degree program. This average, however, covers only federal loans taken out in the student’s name during one year: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, debt with banks or credit cards, or the total debt someone has upon graduation. That figure is not in this report.
The institution also reports an installment tuition-payment plan as an available mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus Life, Athletics, and What Is Available Beyond the Classroom
McPherson College has institution-owned housing. It does not require all full-time students to live there—which rules out a universal requirement but does not mean that no program has one—and it offers meal plans with a fixed number of weekly meals in its largest plan. The reported maximum capacity of institution-controlled housing is 729 students, on or off campus. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed: ask in writing for this year’s rate, the housing application deadline, and whether space is guaranteed or there is a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, the institution did not mark any opportunity in its most recent report—not the general box or any of the three service branches—while 926 of the 1,786 four-year institutions in this guide did mark one. The absence of a mark does not prove that there is no nearby pathway anyway; if that scholarship matters to your family, ask about it directly before ruling it out.
McPherson College does compete in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), with reported membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This membership belongs to the school, not to your child: if your child is interested in playing, write directly to the coach for that sport and ask whether there is a place on the team, what division it competes in, and whether that sport awards scholarships.
Regarding distance education, the institution reports offering it at the undergraduate and graduate levels, but in the most recent fall count, 0 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load remotely. All took at least one in-person class. The institution also reported that it does not currently offer a complete undergraduate program that can be finished entirely through distance education. If this matters to your child, confirm it in writing with the specific program.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual spending exceeded the $100,000 threshold recorded by the government. It has physical and digital collections and participates in interlibrary lending. What the data does not provide is the exact schedule or whether someone is available to guide your child through a search; that must be asked directly.
Among the services the institution reports offering are combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those completing their programs, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program for veterans, and a published web address for disability services.
How Many Stay, and How Many Finish With a Degree
This is perhaps the part most worth examining without looking away.
Of the cohort of full-time, first-time students who entered McPherson College in the fall of 2022, 65 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already completed their bachelor’s degree one year later. Compared with 930 similar selective private schools, that share falls in the lower portion: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, retained a larger share of their cohort. The other 35 out of every 100 did not meet that criterion, and the data does not tell you where they went: they may have transferred, paused their studies, started working, or left for any other reason. Not appearing as retained is not the same as having given up.
Regarding graduation, of the 200 full-time, first-time students who entered a bachelor’s degree program in 2017, 104 had earned a degree from this school six years later. That is 52 out of every 100—almost an even split. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 44 out of every 100. Compared with 920 similar schools, McPherson ranks below the midpoint of the group: more than half of those schools graduated a larger share of their entering class.
A broader measure, which follows a different cohort for eight years—the cohort that entered between July 2015 and June 2016, including part-time students and those with prior college experience—found that 54 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this institution as of August 2023. Among Pell Grant recipients specifically, that share falls to 46 out of every 100—13 points below the share among students who did not receive Pell. Compared with 935 similar schools, it also falls below the median.
None of these figures tells you why each student stayed, left, or took longer. They do tell you something concrete and useful: at this school, finishing in four years is not the most common outcome, and the path to a degree frequently takes longer than the original plan or is not completed there. That is not a judgment about the institution’s quality. It is a question worth asking the academic counselors directly: what specific support exists to help a student finish on time, and what happens for students who receive Pell in particular—whether they are assigned a counselor, whether emergency aid is available, and whether the institution’s grant or scholarship aid renews every year. Ask for the answers in writing.
How to Bring All of This Together in Your Plan
You now know, in considerable detail, one of the three pieces you need to make a decision: what McPherson College actually is and offers, according to its own official reports. It is a small school in a Kansas town, with a Hispanic community that has a meaningful presence, an admissions door that opens for most applicants, a high list price but nearly universal aid, and a path to graduation that, for a substantial share of its students, takes more than four years or is not completed there.
None of this replaces the other two pieces of the plan: what your child wants to study and has built so far, and what your family can and is willing to pay. Only your family knows those two things.
If your child is just beginning to explore colleges, this profile can help you ask specific questions: Can you imagine living in a small town? Are you interested in any of the programs that are more prominent here? If your child is already building a list, request the financial-aid letter before ruling out the school or making a commitment, because the list price is almost never the actual price. And if you feel that you are late in the process, document what you already know and use this profile as a starting point for what you still need to ask the school directly.
The data is the foundation. What you decide based on it, together with what your child wants and what your family can sustain, is what builds the plan. And in the end, that plan is yours to make.
Source note: The information in this article comes from data reported by McPherson College to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent McPherson College or any government agency; this article does not constitute personalized admissions advice.