Texas · Private nonprofit · Predominantly bachelor's

Messenger College

Bedford, Texas. 26 undergraduate students. 7 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.

ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS

What the data flags at Messenger College

Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.

PEER OUTLIER · WARNING-45%

Private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer

10-year earnings at Messenger College are 45% below the private nonprofit bachelor's-predominant peer median ($29.5k vs $53.8k).

DEBT–EARNINGS WARNING · WARNING12.2%

Debt-to-earnings

Debt-to-earnings ratio of 12.2% at Messenger College exceeds the 8% gainful-employment threshold ($27.0k debt amortized over 10 years vs $29.5k earnings).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE+128%

Median federal debt at exit

Median federal debt at exit at Messenger College rose 128% between 2006 and 2009 ($6.6k → $15.1k).

LONG-ARC SHIFT · TRENDING WORSE-23%

Undergraduate enrollment

Undergraduate enrollment at Messenger College fell 23% between 2021 and 2024 (31 → 24).

SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT

The numbers, vs. Texas

Each tile compares this institution to the Texas median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.

MEDIAN EARNINGS · 10Y
$29,463+1% · 6→10y
Texas median $39,639
MEDIAN EARNINGS · 6Y
$29,135
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry
COMPLETION · 150%
55.6%+475% · '97→'24
Texas median 51.8%
MEDIAN FEDERAL DEBT
$27,000+278% · '97→'09
At program completion
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT
26-73% · '96→'24
latest IPEDS
RETENTION
66.7%-12% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time
ADMISSION RATE
50.0%-63% · '02→'24
latest cohort
IN-STATE TUITION
$11,200+195% · '00→'24
out-of-state $11,200
SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS

How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry

Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).

ALL FEDERALLY AIDED STUDENTS · TAX-RECORD EARNINGSVINTAGE 2025-05
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS

What loans cost relative to earnings

Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.

Institution-wide

12.2%
0%8% · GE20%+

Median federal debt $27,000 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $29,463 (10y after entry).

SECTION 04 · LONG ARC

Ten-plus year arc

Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.

UNDERGRAD · 1996202424
1661919962024
Undergraduate enrollment.IPEDS EF
COMPLETION 150% · 19972024100.0%
100%10%19972024
150%-time completion rate.IPEDS GR
MEDIAN DEBT · 19972009$15,125
$15,125$3,50019972009
Median federal student debt at exit.SCORECARD
COMPLETION · 150% · 19972024+475%

Messenger College · completion · 150% rose

17.4% → 100.0%

COMPLETION · 100% · 19972024+1870%

Messenger College · completion · 100% rose

4.3% → 85.7%

RETENTION · 20042024-12%

Messenger College · retention fell

65.0% → 57.1%

UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT · 19962024-32%

Messenger College · undergrad enrollment fell

88 → 24

IN-STATE TUITION · 20002024+195%

Messenger College · in-state tuition rose

$3,945 → $11,620

OUT-OF-STATE TUITION · 20002024+195%

Messenger College · out-of-state tuition rose

$3,945 → $11,620

MEDIAN DEBT · 19972009+278%

Messenger College · median debt rose

$4,000 → $15,125

PELL SHARE · 20082024+24%

Messenger College · pell share rose

65.8% → 81.5%

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_8YR · 20072020+61%

Messenger College · earnings_median_8yr rose

$24,800 → $39,944

EARNINGS_MEDIAN_6YR · 20072020+34%

Messenger College · earnings_median_6yr rose

$21,700 → $29,135

FINANCIAL OUTCOME · ILLUSTRATION

Estimate the financial outcome at Messenger College

Pick a program. Cost from Scorecard net price by family income; earnings from Treasury 5-year-post-completion median, projected forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve. The selection-bias toggle applies the Dale-Krueger shrinkage. Outcomes illustration, not a forecast — see methodology.

Shrinks the earnings premium toward the matched-applicant mean. STEM <15%, business ~40%, arts & education ~60%.

EARNINGS SUPPRESSED

Federal privacy rules suppressed earnings for Religion/Religious Studies · Bachelor's Degree at Messenger College(cohort below 30 students). The calculator can’t produce a number we’d stand behind, so we don’t.

Outcomes illustration · not a forecast. Projects observed Scorecard earnings forward with a Mincer age-earnings curve under your assumptions. See methodology for the math.

CAUSAL DISCIPLINE

Messenger College graduates earn $X” — not “Messenger College makes you earn $X”

Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Messenger College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.

Methodology →