Fort Lewis College
Public College in Durango, CO. Six-year graduation rate 36%. Median 10-year earnings $46,349.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $46,349 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is the weak point: 36% graduate within six years. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $18,389, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
Fort Lewis College accepts 77% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 4,986 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 20% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. 9% 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 | 505–605 | 66 (9%) |
| SAT Math | 505–605 | |
| ACT Composite | 18–26 | 85 (11%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Fort Lewis College →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 36% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention of 66% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 42% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The 14:1 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 3,082 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $17,114 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($18,622 versus $13,158), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 94% receive grants worth $15,943 on average. About 32% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 805 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 | $18,622 |
| $30–48k | $17,014 |
| $48–75k | $19,468 |
| $75–110k | $19,498 |
| $110k+ | $13,158 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 995 of these 3,082 students, totalling $5,963,743 — an average of $5,994 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (La Plata 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)