Louisiana State
University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
Public Research University in Baton Rouge, LA. Six-year graduation rate 69%. Median 10-year earnings $61,251.
Ten-year median earnings of $61,251 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. Completion is a strength: 69% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $20,500, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
73% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. With 47,065 applications received, this is a school operating at national scale. 23% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 7% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants 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 | 600–680 | 569 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 580–660 | |
| ACT Composite | 24–30 | 3,192 (40%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College →Academics
A 69% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 85% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The part-time picture is harder: 30% return, against 85% full-time. The student-faculty ratio is 21:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 29,207 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $21,430 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $13,056 at $0–30k versus $26,489 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 80% of students at an average of $13,381. Federal borrowing reaches 33% 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 · 7,494 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 | $13,056 |
| $30–48k | $15,696 |
| $48–75k | $20,223 |
| $75–110k | $23,878 |
| $110k+ | $26,489 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 9,735 of these 29,207 students, totalling $62,862,770 — an average of $6,457 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (East Baton Rouge Parish) — 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)