McKendree University
Private College in Lebanon, IL. Six-year graduation rate 53%. Median 10-year earnings $58,572.
Ten years after entry, the median McKendree University student earns $58,572 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 53%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $23,250, 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 0.5 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
McKendree University accepts 72% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 3,066 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 McKendree University →Academics
53% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 67% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in three 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. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,597 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $22,444 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($21,928 versus $29,066), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 95% of students get grant aid averaging $22,838, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. About 42% 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 · 435 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 | $21,928 |
| $30–48k | $21,432 |
| $48–75k | $21,041 |
| $75–110k | $28,333 |
| $110k+ | $29,066 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 668 of these 1,597 students, totalling $4,055,184 — an average of $6,071 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (St. Clair 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)