College · Public · Lake Charles, LA · City
McNeese State University
Lake Charles, LA
Admit rate78%
6-yr median pay$39k
Net price / yr$12k
Undergrad size5,005
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $12k/yr for a shot at a $39k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 78% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1087 · ACT 22.
If you get in
5,005 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $23k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $12k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$91k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$50k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$41k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.3x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $8.5k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $10.0k
- Room & board
- $10.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,353
How students pay for it.
Pell grants35%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans32%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$23k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention70%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$39k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$46k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out29%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 5,005
- Location
- Lake Charles, LA
- Region
- Southeast (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
- Also known as
- McNeese
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White61%
- Black19%
- International7%
- Hispanic5%
- Two or more races4%
- Asian2%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students38%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time10%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$35k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 32
What you can study.