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Private College

Lawrence University

Private College in Appleton, WI. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $55,789.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Lawrence University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$55,789
Median debt at grad
$26,000
Mobility score
1.2
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
76.8%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered Lawrence University land at a median of $55,789 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is a strength: 77% of students finish within six years. 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.

Green Flags
  • Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
64%
Applicants
3,270
Yield rate
16.8%

Lawrence University accepts 64% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. The applicant pool runs to 3,270, typical for a school of this reach. A 17% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class. 21% 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 610–710 74 (21%)
SAT Math 590–710
ACT Composite 24–31 115 (33%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Lawrence University →

Academics

Full-time retention
87%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
7:1

Six-year completion runs to 77% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. 87% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. A 7:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically. At 1,410 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$27,161
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
99%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
49%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,394 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price lands at $27,161 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The income table below is the number that matters — $10,419 at $0–30k versus $32,758 at $110k+. Grant aid is widespread — 99% of students receive it, averaging $40,880. About 49% 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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$42,688

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 335 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 $10,419
$30–48k $13,332
$48–75k $15,020
$75–110k $20,256
$110k+ $32,758

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 685 of these 1,394 students, totalling $4,167,542 — an average of $6,084 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Outagamie County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$858/mo
1 bedroom
$960/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,236/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
23
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Lawrence University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Lawrence University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →