Lee University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Lee University

Lee University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Cleveland, Tennessee (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 2,617 students of which 3,762 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. Lee University is categorized as “19” 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 70.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,145 and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $18,878, with published in-state tuition of $23,790 and a Pell grant recipient share of 28.7%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $25,750, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 61.6%, and the first-year retention rate is 82.3%. Graduates earn a median of $43,222 ten years after enrolling, compared with $38,082 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 197500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 53.9% 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.