BaccalaureatePublic

Lake Superior State University

Sault Ste Marie, Michigan·Public, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·lssu.edu
6-yr Graduation
51%
+21.0pp vs Baccalaureate
Total enrollment
1,567
peer median 1,273
Avg net price
$14,368
+$1.0k 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
2,473
2,473 candidates competed
Admitted
1,682
68.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
255
15.2% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
51%+21.0pp vs Baccalaureate
4-year graduation
31%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
50%
Full-time retention
79%

Pell equity

1.0pp gap
Pell recipients
41%
Non-Pell
40%

Pell and non-Pell students graduate at nearly identical rates — a notably small equity gap.

Program outcomes

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

Of 83 Title IV programs, 11 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 72 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
83
Passing
11
13.3% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

83programs
  • Passing11 · 13.3%
  • No Data72 · 86.7%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
1
Safe
10
No data
72

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.

11
Liberal Arts and Sciences General Studies and Humanities
Associate Degree · Liberal Arts And Sciences, General Studies And Humanities
+18.2%
$38,997 vs $32,989
Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management
Bachelor Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
+33.7%
$44,090 vs $32,989
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
+40.8%
$46,435 vs $32,989
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+61.9%
$53,396 vs $32,989
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
Bachelor Degree · Physical Sciences
+72.5%
$56,905 vs $32,989
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
+75.5%
$57,894 vs $32,989
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
+76.7%
$58,286 vs $32,989
Accounting and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+82.4%
$60,167 vs $32,989

Debt vs earnings

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

7
Biology General
Bachelor Degree · Biological And Biomedical Sciences
50%
$23,377 debt · $46,435 earn
Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management
Bachelor Degree · Natural Resources And Conservation
48%
$21,250 debt · $44,090 earn
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
Bachelor Degree · Physical Sciences
39%
$22,265 debt · $56,905 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
35%
$24,607 debt · $70,959 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Bachelor Degree · Security And Protective Services
34%
$19,500 debt · $58,286 earn
Accounting and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
25%
$15,100 debt · $60,167 earn
Criminal Justice and Corrections
Associate Degree · Security And Protective Services
24%
$14,000 debt · $57,894 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1968Next review Aug 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 4

Action history · 2

  1. Mar 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  2. Feb 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$9,949
$30–48k$8,477
$48–75k$12,862
$75–110k$18,261
$110k+$20,766

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

Avg net price
$14,368
+$1,022vs Baccalaureate median $13,346
Federal loans
43.5%
In-state tuition
$14,266
Out-of-state
$14,266

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 549 students received $3.1M in Pell grants, alongside $4.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
549
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$3.1M
$3,082,564 total
Direct Loans
$4.2M
878 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
20
1k
21
1k
22
0k
23
1k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$1.5M
380 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.8M
432 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$70K
6 loan awards
Parent PLUS$943K
60 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 533 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (1.3%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.3%
-1.0pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
533
Defaulted
7
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
5.2%
2017
6.3%
2018
5.9%
2019
1.3%
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 Superior State

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs67
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

405 total completions
01Security/Protective
6816.8%
02Liberal Arts
6616.3%
03Health Professions
5413.3%
04Business
4611.4%
05Natural Resources
327.9%
06Biological Sciences
327.9%
07Education
307.4%
08Engineering
297.2%
09Physical Sciences
276.7%
10Parks/Recreation
215.2%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
1,567
12-mo unduplicated
1,808
Undergraduate
1,808
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
43%786
Women
57%1,022

Race / ethnicity composition

White
73.1%
Non-resident
6.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native
6.5%
Unknown
6.3%
Two or more
4.6%
Black
1.4%
Asian
0.8%
Hispanic
0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

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

Athletes
150
82 M · 68 W
Women athletes
45.3%
Athletic aid
$1.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$5.5M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.0M
$853K
Recruiting expense
$31K
$11K
Head-coach salaries
$72K
$29K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 6

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
59 M · 61 W
$551K
Basketball
15 M · 16 W
$1.3M
Ice Hockey
30 M ·
$1.6M
Volleyball
· 17 W
$384K
Tennis
7 M · 6 W
$327K
Golf
6 M · 5 W
$247K

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
2.42
4 offenses · 1,655 students

3-year trend

2.102 yrs ago1.101 yr ago2.42Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
10
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
9
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Motor vehicle theft
2
Rape
1
Fondling
1

By location

4total
  • On campus3
  • Public property1

Includes 1 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

0
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
1 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons11
Drugs330
Liquor126

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)
82

Lake Superior State vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Lake Superior State 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 Superior State University
51%1,567$14,368Baccalaureate
Wright State University-Lake Campus
35%99.8%1,356$12,603Baccalaureate
Miami University-Middletown
30%1,190$13,824Baccalaureate
Miami University-Hamilton
24%2,480$13,346Baccalaureate
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Flex
100.0%551Baccalaureate
Ohio State University-Lima Campus
14%723$12,458Baccalaureate
Peer group median30%99.9%1,273$13,346

Frequently asked questions about Lake Superior State University

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Lake Superior State.

What is the graduation rate at Lake Superior State University?

Lake Superior State University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 51% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Lake Superior State University?

Lake Superior State University reports a total enrollment of 1,567 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Lake Superior State University?

The average net price at Lake Superior State University is $14,368 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Lake Superior State University?

Lake Superior State University's yield rate is 15.2%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Lake Superior State University located?

Lake Superior State University is located in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan 49783.

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