Central Michigan University
Public Research University in Mount Pleasant, MI. Six-year graduation rate 59%. Median 10-year earnings $55,874.
Ten years after entry, the median Central Michigan University student earns $55,874 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Six-year completion sits at 59%, near the national average for undergraduate institutions. Median debt at graduation reaches $27,000, heavy enough to shape the years right after the degree.
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
Admission is not the constraint here: 90% of applicants are accepted. 21,969 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. A 11% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. Score ranges below describe the middle half of score submitters among enrolled first-years; students who applied test-optional are not represented in them.
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 | 490–610 | 1,347 (61%) |
| SAT Math | 470–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–27 | 157 (7%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Central Michigan University →Academics
Completion is middling: 59% finish inside six years. 75% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The part-time picture is harder: 32% return, against 75% full-time. A 16:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,895 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $17,575 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $12,185 at $0–30k versus $21,403 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 85% of students receive it, averaging $10,560. Most students borrow — 70% 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 · 2,013 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 | $12,185 |
| $30–48k | $12,139 |
| $48–75k | $13,601 |
| $75–110k | $16,269 |
| $110k+ | $21,403 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 6,903 of these 9,895 students, totalling $49,777,930 — an average of $7,211 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Isabella 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)