It's important to remember that a school's published costs may not be indicative of what it will actually cost to attend. Time magazine wrote about this in their article Yes, you can get a college to cut its tuition price. Nonetheless, this inflation-adjusted look at the historic annual costs for tuition, fees, books, and supplies can give you an idea of the costs you might expect in the coming years. Comparing the total costs inclusive of room and board (if applicable) with the annual net price estimates in the previous tab will help you determine the financial aid package to expect.
Private and public universities' charges are difficult to compare due to the in-state and out-of-state price differences of public universities, and therefore we only compare Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies to other private schools within your chosen context group.
Understanding the rules and process that determine who gets financial aid can be intimidating. Here are some quick links to help:
Across the country, graduation rates are surprisingly low. In fact, Forbes Magazine suggests that they are unacceptably low. However, from another point of view, sometimes graduation rates simply reflect the relative preparation of the students who enter. Colleges with a mission to help people coming from less advantaged backgrounds, such as first-generation and low-income students, may have low graduation rates despite relatively strong outcomes for students who face many obstacles to success. Without the context provided in these views of completion rates, it can be tricky to separate predatory schools that take financial advantage of under-prepared students from those that are actively seeking to encourage and help those students.
For the consumer choosing a school, once you have narrowed your list to those schools that you can afford and that seem likely to admit you, consider the outcome measures in this section and choose the specific measures that best describe your plans. Very simply, schools with high graduation rates and high loan repayment rates will likely give you the best opportunity to succeed.
How might your earnings compare with other people your age? Opportunity Insights used IRS data to track almost every person born in the US in the years 1980 to 1991, and they ranked the mean (average) 2014 earnings of students who attended Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies in comparison to all people in the US the same age. Although this data is now a little old, the scope of this project was awesome and gives us a glimpse at alumni performance that we cannot find until a new study of this incredible magnitude is performed.
The Equality Project found that by age 34, people's relative earnings had leveled off, so it's a good assumption that approximately 58% of the population will earn less than Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies alumni.
You might notice a little earnings dip at young ages for some of the top bachelor's institutions. This coincides with the years that many alumni may be in graduate school and earning less.
Opportunity Insights studied groups of all children born in the US in the same year for each birth year from 1980 to 1991. This grouping included every single US child who had a valid SSN or ITIN (tax identification number) and could be linked to parents with non-negative income.
The incomes of all families in a birth year group are measured when the child is 15-19 and these incomes are averaged. The calculated incomes from all families in the group were arranged from smallest to largest, and divided into five groups of equal size. On the left of the diagram, you can see the relative distribution of Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies's students between the family income divided into fifths formed by looking at the entire US group.
In 2014, all people from the same birth year were divided into a new set of five groups that were determined by their individual labor earnings for that year. The students from this birth year who primarily attended Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies between the ages of 19 and 22 were divided into these five groups, and the percent in each group is shown on the right of the diagram.
The diagram lets you see the proportion in each original income group who travel to each earnings group, and provides some insight into the likelihood of financial success after attendance.
If you'd like to understand the nitty gritty details of this interesting data, be sure to check out the well-written Opportunity Insights report by selecting SOURCES under the figure.
Traditionally, the long-term faculty at a school are hired as Assistant Professors. After about six years, they then advance to the Associate Professor level after proving excellence in three areas: teaching, service to the institution, and significant contributions to their field of expertise. Assistant professors who are not promoted to the Associate level are usually required to leave the school. The rank of Professor is reserved for senior faculty who have demonstrated the highest standing in those three areas. The standards of excellence differ widely across institutions; nonetheless, the presence of a large proportion of faculty in the three professor ranks suggests you will be taught by faculty who are invested in their academic fields and in the school. Generally, instructors with any of the three professor titles will hold the highest possible (terminal) degree in their academic fields.
The instructor/lecturer positions are generally held by full-time faculty who are focused on teaching alone, often for lower-level classes. These positions usually require some advanced education or experience, but not the highest (terminal) degree in a given academic field. Those teaching with no academic rank may be hired to teach in mostly non-academic fields, giving skills- or vocation-based guidance.
We have no library data for Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies in spite of the fact that about 99.6 of the degrees it awards are bachelor's or higher degrees. It is unusual for a school with this focus to not have library data. In fact, about 90% of the schools that graduate at least 10% of students at the bachelor's or higher level report library information.
In the age of digital resources, a library can offer incredible support even to distance education students. For students on campus, the library is the study and meeting hub for both residential and commuting students. Through the academic libraries, students can freely access resources not available on the internet.
It is difficult to imagine a meaningful bachelor's or graduate degree program that does not require independent research projects from its students. Without academic library resources, those projects could become quite expensive and also much more difficult, because academic librarians are indispensable for guiding students toward appropriate resources for a research project. The greater fear is that a lack of library means that minimal research and outside reading is expected of students. If you're interested in attending Central Methodist University - College of Graduate and Extended Studies, you should ask about their library resources and research expectations, and make sure that you would be receiving the academic challenges and support that you and your future reputation deserve.
A high proportion of international and out-of-state students speaks to reputation and offers an opportunity for diverse interactions in and out of class.