Bethany Lutheran College
Private College in Mankato, MN. Six-year graduation rate 55%. Median 10-year earnings $46,110.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $46,110 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Six-year completion sits at 55%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Graduates carry a median of $23,000 in debt — in line with the national norm.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.8 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 39% of applicants are offered a place. Only 1,319 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 34% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. 6% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 550–580 | 11 (6%) |
| SAT Math | 490–600 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–26 | 92 (53%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Bethany Lutheran College →Academics
Completion is middling: 55% finish inside six years. First-year retention is 72% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. A 19% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 682 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,127 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $12,571 at the $0–30k band to $24,961 at $110k+. Most students get help: 99% receive grants worth $19,955 on average. Most students borrow — 55% take federal loans to cover the gap.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 189 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $12,571 |
| $30–48k | $16,564 |
| $48–75k | $17,233 |
| $75–110k | $20,099 |
| $110k+ | $24,961 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 372 of these 682 students, totalling $2,204,253 — an average of $5,925 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Blue Earth County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)