Carthage College
Private College in Kenosha, WI. Six-year graduation rate 64%. Median 10-year earnings $56,950.
Ten years after entry, the median Carthage College student earns $56,950 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 64%, meaning about one in three students who start do not finish. Graduates carry a median of $26,000 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 1.0 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 87%, Carthage College takes nearly everyone who applies. 7,777 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. A 11% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. The score bands below rest on the 3% of enrolled first-years who submitted an ACT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | 20–25 | 21 (3%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Carthage College →Academics
64% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The 14:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. 2,642 undergraduates makes this a mid-sized institution.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 2,628 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $27,066 annually once grants are applied. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($23,293 versus $29,176), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 100% of students receive it, averaging $22,733. Most students borrow — 87% 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 · 777 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 | $23,293 |
| $30–48k | $23,630 |
| $48–75k | $22,427 |
| $75–110k | $24,995 |
| $110k+ | $29,176 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 2,283 of these 2,628 students, totalling $20,255,478 — an average of $8,872 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kenosha 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)