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Mississippi Valley State University
Itta Bena, MSpublicwww.mvsu.edu/
Acceptance
92%
Avg net price
$9,686
Earnings (10 yr)
$31,919
Graduation rate
27%
Admit rate has ranged 51%–83% over the last 5 years — notably volatile. Source: IPEDS via Urban Institute.
Acceptance & SAT from Common Data Set / IPEDS; net price, earnings & graduation from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. Figures lag ~1–2 years — verify with the school.
Mississippi Valley State University, a public HBCU in the rural Delta town of Itta Bena, offers an intimate, family-like environment with a focus on serving first-generation and low-income students. Known for its accessible admissions (acceptance rates range from 51-92% across sources) and strong cultural pride, MVSU struggles with low graduation rates (14% 4-year) but provides substantial financial aid—94% of students receive grants averaging $7,939. Its most popular programs include liberal arts and business, delivered with a 13:1 student-faculty ratio.
Admission requirements
Test-optional — scores considered if submitted
Required
- High school transcript
- Grade point average
- College-prep program
- TOEFL (non-native English)
Considered (not required)
- Class rank
- Test scores (SAT/ACT)
Source: IPEDS Admissions survey (2022) via Urban Institute. Covers formal factors only — it does not reflect essays, extracurriculars, or other holistic criteria.
More details
- Undergrad enrollment
- 1,439
- In-state tuition
- $7,692
- Out-of-state tuition
- $7,692
- Type
- Public HBCU
- Location
- Itta Bena, MS
- Acceptance Rate
- 51-92% (varies by source)
- 4-Year Grad Rate
- 14%
- Avg Grant Amount
- $7,939
- % Receiving Grants
- 94%
- Student-Faculty Ratio
- 13:1
- Median Earnings (6 yrs)
- $25,817
Outcomes & value
Outcomes & value
- Median earnings (10 yr)
- $31,919
- Value (earnings ÷ net price)
- 3.3×
- Median debt at graduation
- $28,413
- Graduation rate
- 27%
- First-year retention
- 70%
- Reducing loan balance (3 yr)
- 36%
- Pell (lower-income) share
- 90%
- First-generation share
- 43%
- Endowment / student
- $3,100
Top-earning majors
Median earnings by field of study (highest credential), ~2 years after completion.
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas$28,019
- Business Administration, Management and Operations$26,850
- Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness$25,194
- Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication$24,421
- Criminal Justice and Corrections$22,192
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods
Campus & location
Campus safety
- On-campus violent crimes (2024)
- 1
- Per 1,000 students
- 0.69
On-campus criminal offenses classed as violent (murder/non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, aggravated assault) for the most recent reported year. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education Campus Safety and Security (Clery Act). Counts reflect what’s reported to the school, and urban campuses often report more partly due to non-student incidents nearby — read alongside campus size and setting, not as a standalone safety verdict.
Climate
- Pleasant days / yr
- 92
- Summer high
- 89°F
- Winter low
- 41°F
- Annual rain
- 53.7"
- Annual snow
- 2"
- Natural-hazard risk
- Relatively Low
Pleasant days counts days per year with a mean temperature of 55–75°F, a high at or below 90°F, a low at or above 45°F, and little precipitation — a transparent comfort measure, not a weighting we invented. Computed from Open-Meteo ERA5 daily history (2019–2023). Natural-hazard risk is the county’s composite rating from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Deep dive — research, future-scholar output & economic mobility
Research output
- Institutional h-index
- 30
- Scholarly works
- 389
Institutional research volume and impact from OpenAlex. The h-index reflects large research universities and will be low for teaching-focused liberal-arts colleges — not a measure of undergraduate quality.
Economic mobility
- Mobility rate
- 3.9%
- Bottom → top quintile
- 9%
- From bottom quintile
- 45%
Mobility rate = the share of students who both start in the bottom household-income quintile and reach the top quintile; bottom → top is that chance conditional on starting at the bottom. Source: Opportunity Insights Mobility Report Cards (Chetty, Friedman, Saez, Turner & Yagan). Reflects 1980–82 birth cohorts, so it’s directional, not current.
Quick answers
- What is the acceptance rate at Mississippi Valley State University?
- Mississippi Valley State University's acceptance rate is approximately 92% (Itta Bena, MS), based on the most recent figures we compiled from public and primary sources.
- How much does Mississippi Valley State University cost?
- At Mississippi Valley State University, the average net price (after aid) is about $9,686 per year. Actual cost varies with financial aid and residency.
- How many undergraduates attend Mississippi Valley State University?
- Mississippi Valley State University enrolls approximately 1,439 undergraduate students.
- Where is Mississippi Valley State University located?
- Mississippi Valley State University is located in Itta Bena, MS.
Admissions
MVSU is one of the most accessible public universities in Mississippi, with reported Acceptance rateThe share of applicants a college admits in a given year. A 10% acceptance rate means it admits about 1 in 10 applicants. ranging from 51.2% (PrepScholar) to 92% (U.S. News). The university requires a minimum ACT composite score of 20 (or SAT equivalent) with all subscores above 16, though some sources suggest admitted students often fall below this threshold (ACT range 14-18 per College Board). Unlike selective institutions, MVSU doesn't publish an application deadline and enrolls a high proportion of applicants—2,013 students from 1,054 acceptances in one reported cycle.
Academics
With a 13:1 student-faculty ratio and 60% freshman retention rate, MVSU offers a personalized academic environment where half of all graduates earn degrees in liberal arts and humanities. The university emphasizes breadth of knowledge across disciplines, with notable programs in business (30 graduates reported by Niche) and STEM fields like biology and chemistry. Faculty are described as 'highly qualified experts' in their disciplines, though the six-year graduation rate sits at just 22% according to state data.
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