BaccalaureatePrivate nonprofit

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·lakeforest.edu
6-yr Graduation
78%
+7.5pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
1,837
peer median 1,487
Avg net price
$27,499
+$6.0k vs Baccalaureate
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
5,356
5,356 candidates competed
Admitted
3,043
56.8% acceptance rate
Enrolled
415
13.6% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
78%+7.5pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
70%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
78%
Full-time retention
90%

Pell equity

2.0pp gap
Pell recipients
76%
Non-Pell
78%

Non-Pell students graduate at a 2.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 46 Title IV programs, 10 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 36 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
46
Passing
10
21.7% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

46programs
  • Passing10 · 21.7%
  • No Data36 · 78.3%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
10
No data
36

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

10
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+38.7%
$48,287 vs $34,808
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
+51.1%
$52,598 vs $34,808
Social Sciences Other
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+53.5%
$53,438 vs $34,808
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+55.9%
$54,270 vs $34,808
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+69.2%
$58,901 vs $34,808
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
+77.5%
$61,770 vs $34,808
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
+85.5%
$64,580 vs $34,808
Business/Commerce General
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+114.4%
$74,632 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

9
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
56%
$27,000 debt · $48,287 earn
Social Sciences Other
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
51%
$27,000 debt · $53,438 earn
Romance Languages Literatures and Linguistics
Bachelor Degree · Foreign Languages, Literatures, And Linguistics
50%
$26,474 debt · $52,598 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
50%
$27,000 debt · $54,270 earn
Political Science and Government
Bachelor Degree · Social Sciences
44%
$27,000 debt · $61,770 earn
Communication and Media Studies
Bachelor Degree · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
42%
$27,000 debt · $64,580 earn
English Language and Literature General
Bachelor Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
39%
$23,000 debt · $58,901 earn
Business/Commerce General
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
36%
$27,000 debt · $74,632 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1913Next review Aug 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 2

  1. Oct 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    American Psychological Association, Commission on Accreditation · Professional Psychology (IPSY) - Predoctoral internship programs
  2. Jun 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$19,067
$30–48k$19,086
$48–75k$23,694
$75–110k$28,799
$110k+$34,614

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$27,499
+$6,045vs Baccalaureate median $21,455
Federal loans
70.8%
In-state tuition
$54,202
Out-of-state
$54,202

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 646 students received $3.8M in Pell grants, alongside $8.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
646
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.8M
$3,839,576 total
Direct Loans
$8.1M
1,404 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
1k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$2.6M
568 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$2.7M
703 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$168K
11 loan awards
Parent PLUS$2.5M
121 loan awards
Grad PLUS$8K
1 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 364 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (1.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.0%
-1.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
364
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
1.8%
2017
2.5%
2018
1.3%
2019
1.0%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Lake Forest College

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs42
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

446 total completions
01Business
8619.3%
02Social Sciences
8418.8%
03Biological Sciences
8017.9%
04Psychology
4810.8%
05Communication
317.0%
06Visual/Performing Arts
286.3%
07Computer Sciences
255.6%
08English Language
235.2%
09Natural Resources
214.7%
10Education
204.5%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
1,837
12-mo unduplicated
1,984
Undergraduate
1,954
Graduate
30

Gender split

Men
43%856
Women
57%1,128

Race / ethnicity composition

White
46.6%
Hispanic
18.5%
Non-resident
18.3%
Asian
6.3%
Two or more
3.4%
Black
3.4%
Unknown
3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

Athletes
484
301 M · 183 W
Women athletes
37.8%
Athletic aid
$0
Total student aid
Budget
$4.3M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$0
$0
Recruiting expense
$60K
$26K
Head-coach salaries
$31K
$30K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 13

Football
115 M ·
$501K
Lacrosse
46 M · 24 W
$297K
Soccer
39 M · 26 W
$222K
Ice Hockey
30 M · 26 W
$394K
Track and Field (Indoor)
24 M · 17 W
$63K
Track and Field (Outdoor)
19 M · 17 W
$60K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
2.28
4 offenses · 1,753 students

3-year trend

3.792 yrs ago2.371 yr ago2.28Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
14
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
10
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
6
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Fondling
4

By location

4total
  • On campus4

Includes 3 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
3
Dating violence
4
Stalking
7 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs022
Liquor334

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

Student-to-faculty
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
114

Lake Forest College vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Lake Forest College selected for federal comparison reporting.

GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectLake Forest College
78%1,837$27,499Baccalaureate
Augustana College
73%62.7%2,570$12,437Baccalaureate
Wheaton College
85%87.4%2,874$26,984Baccalaureate
Illinois College
64%78.2%942$17,945Baccalaureate
Knox College
68%70.8%1,136$24,875Baccalaureate
Monmouth College
65%90.9%713$18,034Baccalaureate
Peer group median71%78.2%1,487$21,455

Frequently asked questions about Lake Forest College

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Lake Forest College.

What is the graduation rate at Lake Forest College?

Lake Forest College reports a 6-year graduation rate of 78% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Lake Forest College?

Lake Forest College reports a total enrollment of 1,837 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Lake Forest College?

The average net price at Lake Forest College is $27,499 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Lake Forest College?

Lake Forest College's yield rate is 13.6%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Lake Forest College located?

Lake Forest College is located in Lake Forest, Illinois 60045-2338.

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