Lenoir-Rhyne University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Lenoir-Rhyne University

Lenoir-Rhyne University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Hickory, North Carolina (city: small), with a total reported enrollment of 1,359 students of which 1,578 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. Lenoir-Rhyne 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 84.6%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $20,689, with published in-state tuition of $31,900 and a Pell grant recipient share of 39.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $26,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 49.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 75.5%. Graduates earn a median of $45,543 ten years after enrolling, compared with $44,799 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 82500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 65.7% 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.