Simpson College is a private, nonprofit institution in Iowa, enrolling 1,192 students as of 2024. It graduates 62% of students in four years, returns 81% of freshmen for a second year, and costs an average of $23,282 a year after grants and scholarships. Of the 9 inspection checks that could be evaluated, 6 are flagged: Retention, Equity Gap, Revenue to Expenses, Enrollment, Endowment, and Price vs. Outcomes. This report benchmarks Simpson College's most recent reported year (2024) against 2,000+ U.S. colleges across three dimensions: student outcomes, financial health, and value for money. All figures are drawn from federal IPEDS filings and are reported without editorial judgment.
Simpson College Inspection Flags
Inspection flags are nine independent checks across student outcomes, financial health, and cost-to-value that surface areas of a college's reported numbers worth a closer look. A triggered flag means the college's data met a specific threshold that students and families may want to ask about — for example, graduation rates slipping below a level, or tuition rising while outcomes decline. A clear flag means the threshold was not met. Flags are signals for further conversation, not verdicts.
Look Beyond the Brochure. Then Ask Your College.
Changing the Balance of Power from Colleges to Students and Families.
Every campus tour is a sales pitch. Colleges will show you the beautiful quad and the smiling Dean — not what doesn't flatter them. The right questions can reveal information that significantly impacts your experience.
Student Outcomes
How students at Simpson College complete their degrees, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
College Financial Health
How financially stable Simpson College is, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
Value for Your Money
How Simpson College spends its budget and what families pay, benchmarked against U.S. four-year colleges.
How Much Will This Cost for Your Income Level?
Net price is the average annual out-of-pocket cost for first-time, full-time undergraduate students — tuition + fees + room & board, minus the grants and scholarships the institution reports providing to students in each income bracket. Select your household income below to see the reported figure for that group.
Simpson College — All Reported Indicators
Plain-text reference table of every metric and inspection flag for Simpson College. Values reflect IPEDS-reported figures; percent changes reflect endpoint-to-endpoint 2020 → 2024 comparison; percentiles reflect 2024 national rank against four-year public and private nonprofit institutions. Cells marked "not reported" indicate the indicator was not present in IPEDS for this institution.
Student Outcomes
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four-Year Graduation Rate | 62.0% | -3.1% | 80th |
| Six-Year Graduation Rate | 67.0% | -4.3% | 71st |
| Full-Time Retention Rate | 81.0% | +5.2% | 64th |
| Pell Grant Six-Year Graduation Rate | 55.9% | -6.6% | 65th |
| Pell-to-Non-Pell Graduation Gap | 14.9pp | -4.2% | 75th |
| Pell Share of Cohort | 49.7% | +76.3% | 70th |
Financial Health
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue-to-Expense Ratio | 0.78× | -14.0% | 3rd |
| Total FTE Enrollment | 1,192 | -11.0% | 41st |
| Endowment Value | $87.2M | +4.8% | 62nd |
| Net Assets (End of Year) | $108.8M | -6.6% | 53rd |
Value for Money
| Metric | 2024 Value | 5-Yr % Change | National Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instructional Spending % | 32.9% | -10.7% | 48th |
| Student Support Spending % | 35.8% | +40.3% | 99th |
| Administrative Spending % | 15.0% | -4.0% | 35th |
| Instruction+Support to Admin Ratio | 4.59× | +14.8% | 85th |
| Average Net Price | $23,282 | +13.8% | 68th |
| Net Price: $0-30K Income | $17,941 | +17.5% | 68th |
| Net Price: $30K-48K Income | $15,764 | +1.6% | 57th |
| Net Price: $48-75K Income | $19,176 | +13.9% | 64th |
| Net Price: $75K-110K Income | $22,468 | -6.5% | 61st |
| Net Price: $110K+ Income | $26,586 | -3.3% | 57th |
Inspection Flags
| Flag | Section | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Retention Below 80% Simpson College's retention rate fell below 80% in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Four-Year Graduation Rate Below 50% Simpson College's 4-year graduation rate stayed at or above 62% in all 5 reported years — above the 50% threshold. | Student Outcomes | Cleared |
| Pell Gap Exceeds 10 Points Simpson College's Pell graduation gap exceeded 10 percentage points in 4 of 5 eligible years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. | Student Outcomes | Triggered |
| Revenue-to-Expense Below 1.0 Simpson College's revenue-to-expense ratio fell below 1.0 in 4 of 5 reported years — triggering the 3-of-5 threshold. 2024: 0.78×. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Enrollment Declined 5% or More Simpson College's total enrollment fell from 1,339 to 1,192 students between 2020 and 2024 (-11.0%) — a decline of 5% or more. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| Endowment Under $50M or Growth Under 15% Simpson College's endowment grew +4.8% between 2020 and 2024, below the 15% growth threshold — though at $87.2M it clears the $50 million size threshold. | Financial Health | Triggered |
| High Cost, Low Completion Simpson College costs more than the national median but also graduates students at above-median rates — only one of two conditions is met. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Spending on Students Below the National Median Simpson College spends $4.59 on instruction and student support per $1 of admin in 2024 — at or above the national median of $2.75 in every reported year. | Value for Money | Cleared |
| Rising Price, Falling Outcomes Both conditions were met: Simpson College's net price rose while the 6-year graduation rate declined between 2020 and 2024 — a prompt to ask whether tuition increases are translating into stronger student outcomes. | Value for Money | Triggered |