Montana State Northern acceptance rate and your odds of getting in
With an acceptance rate near 78%, Montana State Northern is an accessible public university in Montana. Because it admits most qualified applicants, admission turns on the strength of your whole profile rather than any one number.
Use this page to see what Montana State Northern weighs, where it ranks among Montana schools, and how a profile like yours is likely to land. Admitted students post a 75th-percentile SAT around 1100, a useful checkpoint for where your scores sit, though it is a reference range and not a cutoff.
What do students study at Montana State Northern?
Bachelor's degrees awarded by field in 2023 (IPEDS completions). Each field has its own page with the school's numbers, the model's major adjustment, and peers offering it.
Will I get into Montana State Northern?
Direct answers to what applicants ask about getting into Montana State Northern, plus a free way to calculate your own odds.
What are my chances of getting into Montana State Northern?
Montana State Northern admits most qualified applicants (around 78%), but that overall rate is not your personal chance. Your real odds depend on how your GPA, course rigor, test scores, and activities compare to its admitted students. Run your profile through the free CollegeCalcAI calculator to get a personalized acceptance percentage for Montana State Northern in about three minutes, with no account needed to start.
Is Montana State Northern hard to get into?
Montana State Northern is accessible: it admits most qualified applicants, with about a 78% acceptance rate. Meeting the academic basics gives most qualified applicants a realistic shot.
What GPA do you need to get into Montana State Northern?
There is no hard GPA cutoff at Montana State Northern, but admitted students span a wide GPA range, with many in the 2.8 to 3.5 band. Montana State Northern reads your GPA alongside the rigor of your courses, so a challenging schedule matters as much as the number itself.
What SAT score do you need for Montana State Northern?
Montana State Northern does not publish a required score, but the admitted-student 75th-percentile SAT is around 1100. A score at or above that range strengthens your application, while a lower score puts more weight on your rigor, activities, and essays. CollegeCalcAI shows how your exact score shifts your odds at Montana State Northern.
Your chances at Montana State Northern by GPA and SAT
Estimated chance of admission at Montana State Northern for plain profiles, from the same model as the calculator. Unweighted GPA, 3 AP courses, Regular Decision, no legacy, athletic or first-generation hook. The last column is test-optional (no score sent).
What are my chances at Montana State Northern with a 3.1 GPA and a 1040 SAT?
About 95% (Safety), by CollegeCalcAI's deterministic model, for an applicant with a 3.1 unweighted GPA and a 1040 SAT, the middle of Montana State Northern's admitted range, applying Regular Decision without a hook. A 3.4 GPA with a 1100 SAT comes out near 98%. Courses, activities, essays and the application round move the number; the free calculator includes them.
Estimates, not guarantees. Get yours with your real courses and activities. Assistants and developers can fetch this table from the free API: /api/v1/colleges/montana-state-northern.
How to get into Montana State Northern
Built from Montana State Northern's admitted class and what it reports weighing. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled figures, not published cutoffs.
Here is how to get into Montana State Northern, built from what its admitted class actually looks like and what the school says it weighs.
CollegeCalcAI's modeled typical admit at Montana State Northern carries about a 3.14 core GPA and a 1050 SAT, in the most rigorous schedule available. Meeting it puts you in the admitted range for most applicants.
Montana State Northern rates academic GPA, rigor of secondary school record, and standardized test scores highest in its own Common Data Set. Put your depth there: and a transcript whose rigor rises through junior year.
Most public universities read early applicants first without a binding commitment. Apply by Montana State Northern's early or priority deadline (confirm dates at www.msun.edu), and if you are out of state, know that residency changes both the bar and the price.
What Montana State Northern looks for
What Montana State Northern weighs most heavily in its admissions review, informed by its reported Common Data Set.
In its review, Montana State Northern leans most on academic GPA, rigor of secondary school record, and standardized test scores. Solid grades in a challenging schedule do most of the work here, with the rest of the application providing context. These ratings come from Montana State Northern's reported Common Data Set, so the full chart below reflects what the school itself says it values, not a generic guess.
SAT score positioning at Montana State Northern
How common SAT scores sit relative to the admitted middle. This is context, not a probability. Your full profile determines the real estimate.
How much does Montana State Northern cost after financial aid?
Montana State Northern's published cost of attendance, before any aid, is roughly $16,578 per year. Tuition and fees are $6,982 for MT residents and $21,875 for out-of-state students, a $14,893 gap that makes residency the single biggest lever on cost. What families actually pay is different: the average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,664 a year, and it ranges from $9,940 for families earning under $30,000 to $16,578 for families earning over $110,000. 33% of undergraduates receive a federal Pell Grant.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Net price is what students receiving aid paid after grants, by family income.
What do Montana State Northern graduates earn, and how many graduate?
Ten years after enrolling, the median Montana State Northern student who received federal aid earns $49,505 a year, up from $45,045 at six years. 41% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 64% return for a second year. Among graduates who borrowed, median federal debt at graduation is $18,500; 29% of undergraduates take federal loans.
Source: College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), release 2026-06-10. Earnings cover students who received federal aid.
How Montana State Northern compares in Montana
Montana State Northern ranks #4 most selective of 9 schools in Montana in our database.
Among the 9 Montana schools we track, Montana State Northern ranks #4 most selective by acceptance rate. Schools like Providence University (MT) (65%) and Rocky Mountain College (70%) sit nearby, which makes Montana a useful frame for calibrating a balanced list. As a public university, residency matters: in-state applicants generally see meaningfully better odds than the headline rate suggests.
Similar to Montana State Northern
Schools with a similar selectivity profile, worth comparing as you build a balanced list.
Build around Montana State Northern with peers at a comparable selectivity, such as Eastern Kentucky University, Indiana University, and Jacksonville State University. Running the same profile against each one in the free calculator is the fastest way to see where you are a reach, a match, or a likely.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Montana State Northern cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Montana State Northern, what students receiving aid paid after grants and scholarships, is $12,664 a year against a sticker price of about $16,578. Families earning under $30,000 paid about $9,940 on average.
What do Montana State Northern graduates earn?
Median earnings ten years after entering Montana State Northern are $49,505 a year among students who received federal aid, and 41% of students graduate within six years (College Scorecard).
What does Montana State Northern value most in applicants?
Based on its admissions profile, Montana State Northern weighs academic GPA, rigor of secondary school record, and standardized test scores most heavily. The full factor breakdown is on this page.
Does Montana State Northern favor in-state applicants?
As a public university, Montana State Northern generally admits in-state applicants at a higher rate than out-of-state applicants, so your home state affects your odds. CollegeCalcAI applies an in-state residency boost when you select your state.
How can I improve my chances at Montana State Northern?
Focus on the highest-leverage parts of your application: course rigor and GPA trajectory first, then test scores, then a focused leadership or activity spike. CollegeCalcAI's Power-Ups quantify how much each change would move your odds at Montana State Northern specifically.
How does residency affect admission to Montana State Northern?
As a public university, Montana State Northern typically admits in-state students at a higher rate, and tuition differs sharply by residency. Select your home state in the calculator to fold the in-state effect into your estimate.
What are the admission requirements for Montana State Northern?
Montana State Northern reviews GPA, course rigor, test scores (where submitted), activities, and essays. With a more accessible acceptance rate, meeting the academic basics gives most qualified applicants a realistic shot.
Acceptance rate, application counts, admitted test ranges, cost, and outcomes reflect publicly reported federal data (U.S. Department of Education: IPEDS 2023 and the College Scorecard) and each school's Common Data Set; figures are rounded and lag the current cycle by one to two years, so confirm deadlines and policies on the school's own site. The typical-admit GPA and SAT are CollegeCalcAI's modeled estimates. Estimates from CollegeCalcAI are a planning tool computed by a fixed, transparent model, not a guarantee of any admission decision.