Ferris State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Ferris State University

Ferris State University operates as a public institution located in Big Rapids, Michigan (town: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 8,106 students of which 10,861 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. Ferris State University is categorized as “17” 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 91.4%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,012 and an ACT midpoint of 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $8,624, with published in-state tuition of $14,778 and a Pell grant recipient share of 34.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $21,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 47.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 77.6%. Graduates earn a median of $54,735 ten years after enrolling, compared with $47,339 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 746100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 70.3% 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.