Central Michigan University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Central Michigan University

Central Michigan University operates as a public institution located in Mount Pleasant, Michigan (town: distant), with a total reported enrollment of 10,035 students of which 11,187 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. Central Michigan University is categorized as “16” 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 89.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,091 and an ACT midpoint of 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $17,597, with published in-state tuition of $14,760 and a Pell grant recipient share of 31.4%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $27,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 60.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 75.4%. Graduates earn a median of $55,874 ten years after enrolling, compared with $46,567 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 959200.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 66.3% 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.