Cornerstone University
Private College in Grand Rapids, MI. Six-year graduation rate 63%. Median 10-year earnings $47,314.
Ten years after entry, the median Cornerstone University student earns $47,314 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. 64% finish within six years — respectable, though a meaningful share still leave without a credential. Graduates carry a median of $25,000 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 0.3 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Cornerstone University accepts 78% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 2,011 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 19% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
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 | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Cornerstone University →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 64%, meaning about one in three students who enroll leave without finishing. 78% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in five 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. At 15:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,444 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $21,335 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($20,177 versus $23,135), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 93% of students receive it, averaging $16,583. Federal borrowing reaches 52% of students.
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 · 267 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 | $20,177 |
| $30–48k | $17,674 |
| $48–75k | $17,872 |
| $75–110k | $18,489 |
| $110k+ | $23,135 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 755 of these 1,444 students, totalling $5,571,492 — an average of $7,379 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Kent 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)