College · Public · Big Rapids, MI · Town
Ferris State University
Big Rapids, MI
Admit rate91%
6-yr median pay$47k
Net price / yr$9k
Undergrad size8,106
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $9k/yr for a shot at a $47k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 91% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1012 · ACT 23.
If you get in
8,106 undergrads. Medium. Clubs matter for finding your people.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $27k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $9k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$108k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$34k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$74k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback0.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $14.8k
- Room & board
- $11.5k
- Books & supplies
- $890
How students pay for it.
Pell grants34%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans43%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$21k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention75%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$47k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$55k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out8%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 8,106
- Location
- Big Rapids, MI
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Doctoral/Professional Universities
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White73%
- Black10%
- Hispanic7%
- Unknown3%
- Two or more races3%
- Asian2%
- International1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students35%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time19%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Veterans1%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$42k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 61
What you can study.