McNeese State University

Lake Charles, LA · Public · 5,005 undergrads (medium, city) · website ↗

Test-optional
$20 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$10,482
$30,000 – $48,000	$11,067
$48,000 – $75,000	$11,640
$75,000 – $110,000	$16,190
Over $110,000	$18,250
All incomes (average)	$12,493

Sticker tuition and fees: $8,489 in-state, $9,989 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use McNeese State University's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$11,016
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$12,085
Books and supplies	$1,385
Other expenses, on campus	$6,315
Other expenses, off campus	$6,315

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (1,005 of them) in 2022–23; 91% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	83%	$9,409
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	39%	$5,829
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	40%	$4,590
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	36%	$4,856

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 78%
Average SAT: 1087
Median ACT: 22
Students with Pell grants: 35%
Graduation rate (6yr): 47%
Freshman retention: 68%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $46,453
Median debt at graduation: $23,000
International undergrads: 313 (5.6%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $20
Students per faculty member: 20 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 100%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 490–610
SAT Math: 450–588
ACT composite: 18–23

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Not considered
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Required
Recommendations	Not considered
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Not considered
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Not considered
Personal statement or essay	Not considered
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 3,294
Admitted: 2,225
Enrolled: 1,063

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Health & Nursing16%

Business16%

Engineering7%

Kinesiology & Sports Science7%

Agriculture5%

Psychology5%

Biology & Life Sciences4%

Criminal Justice3%

Visual & Performing Arts3%

Education3%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (22)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	149	$79,060	$85,928national $88,910	$17,750
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	131	$39,751	$45,669national $53,072	$21,100
Business Administration, Management and Operations	84	$46,300	$60,532national $68,257	$19,500
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	68	$25,378	$51,257national $54,562	$21,075
Psychology, General	60	$27,960	$37,416national $50,706	$22,975
Agriculture, General	49	$39,426	$43,901national $53,676	$21,616
Biology, General	39	$36,339	—national $57,214	$22,614
Accounting and Related Services	39	$46,271	$67,331national $76,194	$18,324
Criminal Justice and Corrections	29	$38,863	$46,223national $55,378	$27,768
Engineering, General	27	$73,828	$107,319national $89,359	$19,899
Communication and Media Studies	26	$38,551	$47,166national $56,359	$19,619
Marketing	24	$35,325	$44,589national $69,303	—
Sociology	23	$36,165	$47,592national $52,657	$28,500
Mechanical Engineering	22	$89,765	—national $92,135	—
Finance and Financial Management Services	22	—	$62,705national $83,343	—
Computer Science	21	—	$64,834national $107,009	—
Fine and Studio Arts	21	$16,432	$34,891national $41,367	—
Public Health	21	$35,224	—national $58,808	$23,000
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	20	$46,885	$48,195national $47,382	—
Allied Health Diagnostic, Intervention, and Treatment Professions	19	$56,471	$59,777national $70,786	$21,554
English Language and Literature, General	18	—	$43,828national $48,590	—
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	18	$55,942	—national $75,975	—

Associate degrees (1)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities	49	$40,035	$45,658national $44,125	$21,100

Master's degrees (7)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	41	$111,515	$120,313national $120,193	$41,000
Business Administration, Management and Operations	38	$60,900	$74,948national $103,485	$25,686
Criminal Justice and Corrections	16	$46,447	$59,792national $66,714	$28,378
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness	15	$47,042	$60,071national $62,033	—
Psychology, General	12	$50,660	$79,341national $64,711	$39,294
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	3	—	$48,679national $59,916	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	—	—	$60,170national $71,685	—

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 30 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 4205 Ryan St, Lake Charles, LA 70605
Phone: (337) 475-5000
Institutional accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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