College · Private nonprofit · Lake Forest, IL · Suburb
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, IL
Admit rate57%
6-yr median pay$51k
Net price / yr$29k
Undergrad size1,813
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $29k/yr for a shot at a $51k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 57% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1343 · ACT 29.
If you get in
1,813 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $71k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $29k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$283k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$115k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$168k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.2x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $56.4k
- Room & board
- $12.7k
- Books & supplies
- $1,350
How students pay for it.
Pell grants32%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans67%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$26k
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?
Graduation · 6 yr78%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$51k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$62k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out16%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,813
- Location
- Lake Forest, IL
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White47%
- International20%
- Hispanic18%
- Asian6%
- Two or more races4%
- Unknown3%
- Black3%
First-gen students25%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$60k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 34
What you can study.