Lake Superior State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Lake Superior State University

Lake Superior State University operates as a public institution located in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan (town: remote), with a total reported enrollment of 1,325 students of which 1,808 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. Lake Superior State University is categorized as “22” 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. Admission rate data is not currently reported for this institution and an ACT midpoint of 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $12,822, with published in-state tuition of $14,890 and a Pell grant recipient share of 26.5%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $23,250, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 53.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 78.8%. Graduates earn a median of $49,045 ten years after enrolling, compared with $42,767 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 131100.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 59.2% 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.