This article will not tell you whether St. Mary's is the right university for your family. No one who does not know you can tell you that. What I can do is explain, using official United States government data, what kind of institution it is, how it admits students, how much it costs, how families pay for it, and what happens to the people who enroll there. With that information in hand, you can decide which questions to ask next.
What Kind of School It Is
St. Mary's University is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. The federal system that classifies United States colleges and universities (Carnegie) places it among master's universities with larger programs, and it also reports that the doctorate is the highest degree it offers. That is an institution-level fact: it does not mean that the field your child is interested in extends through the doctoral level. If your child cares about having a path from undergraduate study to graduate study in that field, ask about the specific program, not the school in general.
Carnegie also classifies it as highly residential: in 2019-20, at least half of degree-seeking undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing, and at least 80 out of every 100 attended full time. It also places the university in its selective-admissions group. Living on campus is not the same as paying tuition: room and meals are almost never included with tuition in the brochure. Ask for that cost separately, including the meal plan, before comparing this school with any other.
Where it is. St. Mary's University is located in San Antonio, Texas, within Bexar County and the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. That does not tell you how to get to campus or what it is like to live nearby. If your child plans to live at home, drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child would have class. The actual travel time is almost never what the map says.
What it is not. St. Mary's University is not registered as a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in the federal directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; St. Mary's is not among them. That says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child will feel there. Not having the label does not mean support is unavailable, and having the label does not guarantee support either. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today and, better yet, speak with someone who already attends the university.
A Community Where Being Latino Is Not the Exception
Here is one of the numbers that will matter most to many families reading this: in fall 2023, 49 out of every 100 undergraduate students at St. Mary's University reported being Hispanic or Latino. That is nearly half. Compared with the 941 selective-admission, private four-year schools that report this information, St. Mary's reports one of the highest shares: nine out of ten schools in that group reported an equal or lower proportion.
Simply put: on this campus, being Latino would not be the exception.
But I want to be honest with you about what that number does and does not tell you. Counting students is not the same as serving them. A high percentage of Latino students does not confirm that there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, that specific tutoring is available, or that those students complete their degrees at a higher rate. And it is the number for the entire school, not for the field your child is interested in. It is real information and a useful signal. By itself, it is not a promise of support.
A few more facts about who shares the campus with your child: there are very few older students—only 4 out of every 100 are between 25 and 64 years old; there are more women than men, at 59 out of every 100; and 91 out of every 100 first-time students reported a Texas address when applying. It is overwhelmingly a school of young students from within the state.
Its actual size. St. Mary's University had 3,411 students enrolled in the official fall count, making it medium-sized compared with similar schools. But that total combines undergraduate and graduate students: 2,147 are undergraduates and 1,264 are graduate students. If your child is entering a bachelor's-degree program, the number that matters is 2,147, not the total of 3,411. A substantial part of this school consists of people who have already completed a degree and returned for another one.
How Academics Work
The academic year is organized into semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks. In its official report, the university indicated that it accepts credit for AP exams, but it did not indicate that it awards credit for life experience. Saying it accepts AP does not mean it automatically grants credit for every exam: the report does not say what scores are required or how many credits are awarded. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand. The university also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Fields in which students earn degrees. In the most recent year reported, St. Mary's awarded 421 bachelor's degrees across 21 families of fields. The family awarding the most degrees was business and management, with 26 out of every 100 degrees—no other area exceeded it, but it did not account for most degrees either. Compared with similar schools, St. Mary's is in the group offering the greatest variety of field families. One caution: 21 families with at least one row in the report do not represent 21 complete degree programs or guarantee that each had active degree awards that year. Verify the exact program your child is interested in, using its full name rather than the broad category.
Students per faculty member. The official ratio is 10 students for each full-time-equivalent faculty member, a low figure compared with similar schools. But be careful: this is an aggregate institution-level ratio, not the actual size of a class. It does not tell you whether a first-year calculus class has 15 students or 80. Ask directly if that matters to you.
Additional opportunities. The institution reports study abroad, noncredit developmental education, and several pathways related to teacher certification, including state approval for initial teacher certification. If your child is interested in any of these, this is a good starting point for asking in writing exactly what each one involves.
Getting In: What They Require and How Likely They Are to Say Yes
St. Mary's University does not have open admission: it reviews several components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it identifies three as required: the high school record, the high school GPA, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom that requirement applies. The personal essay and letters of recommendation are not required, but the university considers them if you submit them. The published undergraduate application fee is $0.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English proficiency exam is required and what would qualify your child for an exemption. This is the kind of issue families discover too late if they do not ask early enough.
Now, the question nearly every family wants answered first: how likely is the university to say yes?
In the 2023 cycle, St. Mary's University received 5,203 first-time applications and offered admission to 4,628 applicants. That is 89 out of every 100 applicants admitted. Compared with similar selective private schools, it is on the high side: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, accepted an equal or lower proportion. Even so, 575 applicants did not receive an offer that year, so submitting a complete application on time still matters.
Here is a number that surprises many families: out of every 100 admitted students, only 11 ultimately enrolled. That is about one out of nine. The others had a place here and did not take it. Do not read that as a mark against the school—the record does not say why each person made that decision, and a low enrollment yield does not mean the institution is bad. What it does mean is this: receiving an admission letter is not the same as deciding to attend, and other families' decisions tell you nothing about what the university will offer you. Wait for your own letter showing the net price—what the year will actually cost you—before deciding whether this school stays on your list.
About the tests. The SAT and ACT are not required. If your child submits scores, they are considered; if not, the application remains valid. Among enrolled first-time students, 25 out of every 100 submitted an SAT score, and the middle half of those students scored between 500 and 590 in reading and writing and between 480 and 560 in mathematics. Those ranges apply to students who enrolled and chose to submit scores, not to everyone who applied. The 500 is not a minimum for admission, and the 590 does not guarantee anything.
About transfers. In fall 2023, 99 undergraduate students arrived at St. Mary's for the first time after previously studying at another institution. This is a count of people who arrived, not a rate, and the federal file does not report how many students leave this school for another institution. How many credits St. Mary's would recognize if your child transfers in is a question to ask the school directly.
The Listed Price and What You Might Actually Pay
At St. Mary's University, among 112 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 $19,965. Among 89 students in the same population whose EFC family income ranged from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $19,998; among 138 students whose EFC family income exceeded $110,000, it was $23,038. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents' income with their own.
There is a difference of $3,073 between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 112 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 138 students. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $20,562.
$19,965 was the average net price for families in the lowest-income band during the 2022-23 academic year. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you decide whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands on this fact sheet 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 for students receiving aid, when shown, describes full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the one in the financial aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school's website.
How Families Pay: Grants, Loans, and Other Options
At St. Mary's University, 96 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received a grant or other aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something is common here, not the exception. Among those who received it, the average was $25,756 for the year—although that average includes people who received much more and people who received much less. In addition, 42 out of every 100 students received a federal Pell Grant, aid intended for families with demonstrated financial need.
$25,756 is real money, but it is not a price. What determines how much you will pay is the amount left after all aid, and that amount is not included in this overall average: you must request it from each school and have the letter in hand.
Now for the other side of how families pay for college here: loans.
In the 2022-23 school year, 52 out of every 100 undergraduate students at St. Mary's University received a federal student loan. That is more than half. Among those who borrowed, the average amount per borrower that year was $6,891. Compared with similar selective private schools, that share falls in the middle of the group: it is neither among the schools with the highest proportions of student borrowers nor among those with the lowest.
I want to be direct with you here, because this is where the consequences hurt most later: financing an education with debt is common at this school. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years of the degree program, the total would be around $27,564, not including interest. That figure is determined before the first signature, not at the end. And the $6,891 average includes only federal loans in the student's name for one year: it does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit cards. It is also not the total debt someone has upon graduation; calculating that would require adding every year, and that figure does not appear in this report.
This percentage describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow depends on the child's own financial aid letter. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and before committing to it.
The institution also reports that an installment tuition payment plan is available as a way to manage the cost.
Campus Life, Support, and Activities
St. Mary's University has its own housing, although it does not require all first-time students to live there; that means there is no universal requirement, not that no program has one. It also offers meal plans, but the number of meals per week varies depending on the plan you choose. The reported maximum capacity of institution-controlled housing is 1,611 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee an available bed for your child: request this year's rate, the housing application deadline, and whether your child is guaranteed a place or will be placed on a waiting list, all in writing.
ROTC is available, and the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army; the Navy and Air Force are not marked in the report. Not confirmed does not mean impossible; it means you need to ask directly if your child is interested in another branch.
In athletics, St. Mary's competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NCAA. The report specifically confirms NCAA or NAIA membership for basketball and baseball. That affiliation belongs to the school, not to your child: if your child is interested in a sport, contact the coach directly and ask whether there is room on the team, which division it competes in, and whether that sport offers athletic scholarships.
Regarding distance education, the school does offer online courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and it reports having at least one program in which all required courses can be completed at a distance. But in the fall count, fewer than 1 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load fully at a distance. If your child is interested in studying online, confirm in writing whether the specific degree program offers that option today.
The library operates with paid staff, and its annual expenditures exceed the $100,000 threshold recorded by the federal government. It has physical and digital materials and participates in interlibrary lending. Exceeding that threshold does not guarantee that it has databases specific to your child's field; ask about those using the field's name.
Finally, the institution reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services after program completion, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program for veterans, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military families, a student veterans organization, and a published web address for disability services. The fact that these services are reported confirms that they exist on paper; it does not confirm their quality or effectiveness in your child's particular case.
Who Stays and Who Finishes
This is the part universities are least likely to discuss in their brochures, and it is exactly what a family needs most before committing four years and tens of thousands of dollars.
Retention. Of the 529 first-time, full-time, bachelor's-degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2022, 357 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. That is 67 out of every 100. Compared with similar selective private schools, St. Mary's falls toward the bottom: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, retained a larger share of their cohorts. The other 172 students were not included in the official retention outcome, and the data do not say what happened to them: we do not know whether they transferred, paused their studies, started working, or had any other reason. Not appearing as retained does not allow us to conclude that someone gave up.
Graduation. IPEDS tracked 643 first-time, full-time students who began a bachelor's-degree program in 2017. By the six-year mark, 378 had graduated: 59 out of every 100. But look at the four-year mark—the timeframe nearly every family uses in its budget—and the figure falls to only 6 out of every 100. The 53-percentage-point gap measures the increase in the share of the same cohort earning a bachelor's degree between the four-year and six-year marks. The data do not say how many semesters each person attended and do not report tuition, rent, or earnings. Compared with similar schools, this six-year rate falls below the midpoint of the group.
That 53-percentage-point figure does not tell you how many semesters each person attended or what happened to that person's tuition, rent, or earnings during the additional time. What it does tell you is that, before signing, it is worth asking in writing how long the specific program your child wants usually takes, how its required courses are scheduled, and how the total cost changes if the plan extends beyond four years. A fifth year is not just time. It costs money.
At eight years, with a broader view. Looking at a cohort of 775 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016—combining first-time students with those who already had prior college experience, as well as full-time and part-time students—by the August 2023 reporting date, 59 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Among Pell Grant recipients specifically, the figure was 57 out of every 100, five percentage points below the group without Pell Grants. Compared with similar schools, this rate also falls below the midpoint of the group.
One honest fact needs to be made clear: as of that same reporting date, 33 out of every 100 members of that cohort—exactly 252 people—appear with unknown enrollment status. Unknown does not mean they stopped studying somewhere; it means the report could not determine what happened to them. The figures for "earned a credential" and "no information" do not add neatly to one hundred, and that is part of the real limitations of this type of national tracking, not an error specific to this university.
What This Means for Your Plan
You now know one important part of the picture: what St. Mary's University looks like according to the most recent available federal data. You know that it is a school where being Latino is not the exception, where admission is relatively accessible but most admitted students choose not to enroll, where the listed price is around $52,000 but the actual net prices for many families at different income levels are more similar to one another than you might expect, where financing an education with loans is common, and where graduating in four years is the exception rather than the rule.
None of this tells you whether St. Mary's is the right school for your child. That depends on what your child wants to study and what the child has already built so far—that part is up to your child. It also depends on what your family can and is willing to pay and on the documents, deadlines, and signatures that are your responsibility as the adult. The university's responsibility is to admit students, offer aid, and report truthfully.
If anything in this article left you with a specific question—about your child's degree program, the English proficiency exam, how long graduation would take, or how much a fifth year would cost—that question now has a name and a purpose. Write it down and take it directly to the admissions or financial aid office at St. Mary's. The answers they give you in writing are worth more than any average in this article because they are about your child, not about thousands of students who are not yours.
Source: official data from the United States Department of Education's IPEDS system, corresponding primarily to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, as indicated for each figure. Best College Aid does not represent St. Mary's University or any United States government agency.