University of Missouri-Columbia
Columbia, MO
University of Missouri-Columbia is a public research university in Columbia, Missouri, a midsize city, with 23,929 undergraduates. Communication is its signature field: 11% of its bachelor's degrees, two and a half times its share across the colleges we cover. 75% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $63,403 ten years after starting.
University of Missouri-Columbia admitted 16,690 of 21,669 applicants for the fall 2023 entering class (77%).
- Acceptance rate
- 77%
- Fall 2023 class
- In-state tuition
- $14,837
- $36,056 out of state
- Paid after aid
- $20,268
- Average, students with aid
- ACT, middle 50%
- 23–29
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2023 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of Missouri-Columbia is known for
Measured by the 5,944 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Communication
10.5%
of its bachelor's degrees: two and a half times the 4.5% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business/Commerce79213.3% of degrees$84,534+24% vs $68,407 nationally
- Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences5288.9% of degrees$69,333+13% vs $61,296 nationally
- Journalism4617.8% of degrees$69,016+23% vs $56,278 nationally
- Psychology3586.0% of degrees$55,839+10% vs $50,706 nationally
- Biology2814.7% of degrees$60,424+6% vs $57,214 nationally
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing2474.2% of degrees$83,231−6% vs $88,910 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Midsize city
Columbia, MO
Undergraduates
23,929
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
A quarter to half
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
17 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
1%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at University of Missouri-Columbia
Two things University of Missouri-Columbia published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
10% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 66% sent an ACT. University of Missouri-Columbia files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Families paid $20,268 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
77%
16,690 admitted of 21,669 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 580–670Math 570–660
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
ACT, middle 50%
23–29
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
10%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
66%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Where do you actually stand at University of Missouri-Columbia?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What University of Missouri-Columbia costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
In-state tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $14,837 ($36,056 out of state), and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $31,713. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $20,268 a year on average.
In-state tuition and fees
$14,837
2024–25 school year
Out-of-state tuition and fees
$36,056
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$31,713
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$20,268
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $31,713 full cost.
- Under $30k$13,841Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$13,378Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$13,722Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$19,762Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$26,304Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
75%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
93%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$63,403
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$20,500
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
What University of Missouri-Columbia says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Essayconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- GPAconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Recommendationsconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
- Class rankconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2023
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Early ActionDecember 1, 2026
Verified July 17, 2026
- Rolling AdmissionJuly 1, 2027
Verified August 17, 2026 · Source
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Missouri
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Westminster College77.6%
- Southeast Missouri State University78.5%
- University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis75.1%
- University of Missouri-Kansas City75%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
