Mercer University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Macon, Georgia (city: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 4,500 students of which 5,218 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. Mercer 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 68.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,271 and an ACT midpoint of 30. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $23,847, with published in-state tuition of $42,312 and a Pell grant recipient share of 35.4%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $24,199, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 71.9%, and the first-year retention rate is 82.2%. Graduates earn a median of $58,354 ten years after enrolling, compared with $50,231 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 253000.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 72.8% 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.