College · Private nonprofit · Banner Elk, NC · Rural
Lees-McRae College
Banner Elk, NC
Religious affiliation
Admit rate77%
6-yr median pay$42k
Net price / yr$28k
Undergrad size873
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $28k/yr for a shot at a $42k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 77% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 23.
If you get in
873 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $49k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $28k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$198k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$113k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$85k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.7x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $33.3k
- Room & board
- $15.2k
- Books & supplies
- $600
How students pay for it.
Pell grants37%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans59%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$17k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $6k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention65%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr42%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$42k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out41%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 873
- Location
- Banner Elk, NC
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White56%
- Unknown23%
- Black7%
- International5%
- Hispanic5%
- Asian1%
- Two or more races1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$43k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 24
What you can study.