| Location: | Midwest |
| Setting: | Small Town Setting |
| Type: | Public |
| Size: | Large (5,000 to 10,000 Undergrad) |
| Mascots: | Indians, Otahkians |
| Nickname: | SEMo |
Southeast Missouri State University is a public, accredited university located in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, not far from the banks of the Mississippi River.
In Fall 2006, the University had over 10,000 students for the first time. 93.1% of students attended full-time, while 6.9% attended part-time. In Fall 2002, 645 male students and 921 female students enrolled as first-time students (freshmen, typically). Female students made up 58.8% of the student body. Minority enrollment included African-American (6%), Hispanic (1%), and Asian (1%).
Southeast Missouri State University was founded in 1873 when a group of prominent businessmen and politicians successfully lobbied the State of Missouri to designate Cape Girardeau as the home of the Third District Normal School. Classes were originally taught at the nearby Lorimier School until April of 1875 when the first normal school building was completed. This building was described by Mark Twain in "Life on the Mississippi":
"There was another college higher up on an airy summit--a bright new edifice, picturesquely and peculiarly towered and pinnacled--a sort of gigantic casters, with the cruets all complete."
It burned down on April 8, 1902.
The original normal school building was replaced in 1906 by Academic Hall, the school's domed landmark building. It was designed by Jerome Bibb Legg, who also designed the St. Louis Exposition and Music Hall, and includes light fixtures from the 1904 World's Fair.
Southeast Missouri State College had an enrollment of approximately 1,600 students in the 1950s and steadily increased to more than 7,000 students in the 1970s due to low tuition costs, aggressive recruiting, and the construction of Interstate 55 between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. The College also moved away from its focus on only training teachers and began to offer courses of study in business, nursing, and the liberal arts. Due to this expansion of curriculum and student body population, the college officially became Southeast Missouri State University in 1972. The physical size of the campus also grew in this same period. In 1956, the institution had ten buildings on campus. In 1975, the number had increased to twenty-two buildings. In 1998, the university acquired the former St. Vincent's Seminary on the Mississippi river. This property has been redeveloped as a center for the visual and performing arts, which opened in Fall 2007.
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| Percent of Students International: | 1% |
| On-Campus Housing Available: | Yes |
| Percent of Students Living On-Campus: | 30% |
| Freshman Students Required to Live on Campus: | Yes |
| Member of: | NAA, NCAA |
| Sports Include: |
Football (Ohio Valley Conference) Basketball (Ohio Valley Conference) Baseball (Ohio Valley Conference) Track (Ohio Valley Conference) |
| Tuition & Fees (undergraduate) | In-State | Out-of-State | |
Published Tuition and Fees: |
$ 5,145 | $ 9,000 | |
Average Tuition for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 4,764 | $ 8,619 | |
Required Fees for Full-Time Undergrads: |
$ 381 | $ 381 | |
| Financial Aid | Avg. Amount Received | % of Students Receiving Aid | |
Federal Grants: |
$ 2,723 | 26% | |
State and Local Grants: |
$ 1,542 | 27% | |
Institutional Grants: |
$ 3,012 | 52% | |
Student Loans: |
$ 3,494 | 53% | |
Any Aid: |
83% |
| Acceptance Rate: | 89% (Selective) |
| Test Scores | |
| ACT Scores: | |
| % of Students Submitting ACT Scores: | 91% |
| Bottom 25th Percentile: | Composite: 19, Verbal: 19, Math: 18 |
| Top 75th Percentile: | Composite: 25, Verbal: 26, Math: 25 |
| Application Fee: | $ 20.00 |
| Formal Demonstration of Competencies: | Not Required |
| High School Diploma or Equivalent: | Required |
| High School GPA: | Required |
| High School Rank: | Recommended |
| High School Record: | Required |
| Recommendations: | Not Required |
| TOEFL: | Required |
| Test Scores: | Required |
