Graceland University-Lamoni
Private College in Lamoni, IA. Six-year graduation rate 42%. Median 10-year earnings $47,361.
Students who entered Graceland University-Lamoni land at a median of $47,361 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate is 42%, meaning about three in five students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $21,212, neither a bargain nor a burden. It also moves people — 2.1% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
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
Admissions
Graceland University-Lamoni accepts 81% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. Only 1,346 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. A 16% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering 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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Graceland University-Lamoni →Academics
42% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. Just 55% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. At 12:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 906 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $19,574 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($15,875 versus $21,560), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Most students get help: 94% receive grants worth $27,404 on average. 78% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.
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 · 240 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 | $15,875 |
| $30–48k | $16,390 |
| $48–75k | $20,883 |
| $75–110k | $18,345 |
| $110k+ | $21,560 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 706 of these 906 students, totalling $5,103,669 — an average of $7,229 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Decatur 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)