Mars Hill University is a private nonprofit institution offering graduate degrees based in Mars Hill, North Carolina. It enrolls 1,044 students (a small, tight-knit student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (4-Year Selective), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Good
57/100
UCD Score · 4-Year Selective
Outcomes21
Value30
Affordability65
Selectivity65
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
Mars Hill University admits 67.9% of applicants, which makes it moderately selective, and realistic if you meet the academic profile.
Acceptance Rate
67.9%
Moderate
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Test PolicyTest OptionalApplicants choose whether to submit SAT or ACT scores.
5-Year Admission Trend
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Mars Hill University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Becoming less selective ↑
14.6 pts
since 2019
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $19,910 a year on average, it sits below what private nonprofit colleges charge nationally. That still leaves most families a gap to cover, but a manageable one. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees
$37,736
Room & Board (on-campus)
$12,258
Room & Board (off-campus)
$12,258
Other Expenses (on-campus)
$3,000
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$4,000
Total Cost of Attendance
$50,099
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$17,021
$30,001 – $48,000
$17,020
$48,001 – $75,000
$20,628
$75,001 – $110,000
$21,637
Over $110,000
$21,972
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$2,82610%percentile
$5,50025%percentile
$26,000Medianpercentile
$27,00075%percentile
$40,00090%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $19,000
↓ $7,000
No Pell $15,250
↓ $10,750
Dependent students $17,407
↓ $8,593
Independent students $19,565
↓ $6,435
Female students $18,875
↓ $7,125
Male students $16,000
↓ $10,000
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $8,250, less than completers ($26,000), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
31% of students who start here finish within six years, and 66% come back after first year. Fewer than half finish in six years. Ask what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
31%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
66%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Lower than typical completion. Worth asking the school how they support students who fall behind.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $44,781 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$44,781
Earning > $25K
75%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$30,000
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$38,100
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$30,200
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$33,800
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$37,900
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $8,100, about 21% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
17.4 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Strong. 80% of graduates are actively reducing their debt seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 1,044 students, a small, close-knit community. Worth knowing: 34% are the first in their family to go to college.
Total Enrolled
1,044
Part-Time
5%
First-Generation
34%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
White 63.1%659
Black 15.7%164
Hispanic 9.5%99
International 5.7%59
Other 1.8%19
Asian 1.1%11
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Mars Hill University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Mars Hill University offers
a varied set of programs:
31 distinct programs across
16 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 10 students for every instructor here: small classes, and staff who are likely to know your name.
Student : Faculty
10:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Endowment
$116M
Solid financial position
Avg Faculty Salary
$52,811
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
73 instructional faculty across 4 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Full Professors
19
26%
$57,308
Associate Professors
27
37%
$53,211
Assistant Professors
20
27%
$51,733
Instructors
7
10%
$42,145
Pros & Cons of Mars Hill University
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Mars Hill University is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Best for:
Based on the data, Mars Hill University is a fit for
students who thrive in small, close-knit environments.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mars Hill University
The questions families ask most about Mars Hill University, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Mars Hill University hard to get into?
Admissions at Mars Hill University are moderately competitive. The acceptance rate is 67.9%, so most applicants who meet the academic minimums are admitted.
What is the acceptance rate at Mars Hill University?
67.9% of applicants are admitted. Most applicants who meet the basic requirements are admitted. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
How much does Mars Hill University cost?
Budget around $19,910 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Mars Hill University worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $44,781 a year against a net price of $19,910, about 2.2 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Mars Hill University known for?
Mostly Business Administration, Business Administration, Criminal Justice. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Mars Hill University graduates earn?
About $44,781 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Mars Hill University accredited?
Yes. Mars Hill University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.
How many students attend Mars Hill University?
1,044 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Mars Hill University?
31% finish within six years. That means most students do not finish in six years. Ask the school directly what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Mars Hill University a public or private college?
It is Private Nonprofit. Private nonprofit, so the sticker price is higher but institutional aid is often larger too.
Where is Mars Hill University located?
Mars Hill University is located in Mars Hill, North Carolina.
What programs does Mars Hill University offer?
31 different programs, most commonly Business Administration, Business Administration, Criminal Justice. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Mars Hill University?
10 students per instructor. Low enough that staff are likely to know who you are. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in North Carolina
Other colleges in North Carolina share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.