COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · MARSHALL, MN
Is Southwest Minnesota State University worth the money?
Yes — at resident pricing. A Southwest Minnesota State University degree clears +$1.11M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.
A public four-year school in Marshall, Minnesota, priced as a Minnesota resident — earnings rolled up from 22 FREOPP-reported programs.
IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.
- 30-year net value · resident pricing
- +$1.11M
- Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
- $52,759
- Breaks even by age
- —
- FREOPP program coverage
- 22 programs
Southwest Minnesota State University tuition & cost
- Annual tuition · Minnesota resident
- $10,304
- Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
- $83,880
Sticker tuition, before aid. Priced as a Minnesota resident; the out-of-state line is the non-resident rate. Total cost of attendance adds fees, housing, and living costs over 4 years (IPEDS 2023).
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)
Southwest Minnesota State University runs through the /worth-it model at its resident tuition rate, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Minnesota’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.
What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 22 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.
Questions
- Is Southwest Minnesota State University worth the money?
- At resident pricing, yes: Southwest Minnesota State University clears +$1.11M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $83,880 and median earnings of $52,759 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
- How much is tuition at Southwest Minnesota State University?
- Southwest Minnesota State University's annual sticker tuition is $10,304 for Minnesota residents, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $83,880 (IPEDS 2023).
- What is the total cost of Southwest Minnesota State University?
- Over 4 years, Southwest Minnesota State University's sticker cost of attendance is $83,880 — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at Minnesota prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $52,759.
- How long until a Southwest Minnesota State University degree pays for itself?
- Under our defaults the degree path finishes +$1.11M ahead at the 30-year horizon; the year-by-year crossover depends on your loan share and time horizon — run your own assumptions on the calculator.
- What could change the number for Southwest Minnesota State University?
- Two levers dominate. Residency: this page prices Southwest Minnesota State University as a Minnesota resident — non-resident tuition is a different trade (see the out-of-state tax in Minnesota). And the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages).
Keep going
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Is Southwest Minnesota State University worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/southwest-minnesota-state-university