California Lutheran University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for California Lutheran University

California Lutheran University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Thousand Oaks, California (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 2,296 students of which 2,560 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. California Lutheran University is categorized as “18” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 75.7%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,266 and an ACT midpoint of 26. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $30,109, with published in-state tuition of $52,560 and a Pell grant recipient share of 31.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,669, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 71.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 78.8%. Graduates earn a median of $68,712 ten years after enrolling, compared with $54,981 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 122800.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 68.1% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.