College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

Ferris State University Comprehensive Profile

364 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
91% Acceptance Rate

Find out more about how Ferris State University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.

Want to know more about a specific stat? Just click on its tile, and you’ll go to a page that goes more in-depth on that subject. You can also use the links below to go directly to any section on this page.

* Rankings

How Does Ferris State University Stack Up?

#602 Best Colleges in Nation
#12 Best Colleges in MI
Ferris State University ranking badge

2026 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Ferris State University was awarded 364 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Quality

Ferris is ranked #602 out of 3,449 schools in the nation for overall quality on College Factual’s 2026 Best Colleges list.

Ferris is also ranked #12 on the Best Colleges in Michigan list.

See all of the rankings for Ferris State University.

How Difficult Is Admission to Ferris State University?

91% Acceptance Rate
92% Of Accepted Are Women
65% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

With an acceptance rate of 91%, Ferris State University is easier to get into than many other schools. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off on your application. Make sure to treat this school like any other when submitting requested materials and documents.

Standardized Test Scores

About 65% of students accepted to Ferris submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 460 and 570. Math scores were between 430 and 550.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Ferris State University  ( 460 to 570 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Ferris State University  ( 430 to 550 )
200
800

Ferris received ACT scores from 1% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 20 and 24.

ACT Composite Scores for Ferris State University  ( 20 to 24 )
1
36

Learn more about Ferris State University admissions.

Teaching Staff at Ferris State University

15 to 1 Student to Faculty
72% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

With a student to faculty ratio of 15 to 1, Ferris State University is about average in this regard as the nationwide rate is 15 to 1. While this does not translate directly to class size, it’s a good indicator of how much time professors will have to spend with their students on a one-on-one basis.

Full-Time Instructors

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Ferris State University is 72%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  72 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Ferris State University

73% Freshmen Retention
48% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshmen Retention Rate

The freshmen retention rate tells us what percentage of first-year, full-time students choose to continue on to their sophomore year at a particular school. The rate at Ferris State University is 73%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  73 out of 100
0
100

Academic Completion

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Ferris for first-time, full-time students is 48%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  48 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Ferris State University.

Student Demographics at Ferris State University

8,087 Undergraduate Students
22.0% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
54.2% Percent Women

The current enrollment includes 8,087 undergraduates at Ferris.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Ferris State University.

How Much Does Ferris State University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
43% Take Out Loans
$26,960 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of Ferris is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Ferris

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$5,957 $7,962 $12,303 $17,193 $19,308

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Ferris, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At Ferris, approximately 43% of students took out student loans averaging $6,740 a year. That adds up to $26,960 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 7.0%. Although this is lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, you’ll still want to keep this in mind when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for Ferris State University.

What Do Ferris State University Alumni Earn?

$54,735 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Ferris State University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $54,735 in their early years. This is good news for future Ferris State University graduates since it is 11% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Ferris State University make the most money.

Location of Ferris State University

Michigan State
8,087 Undergraduate Students
Town Campus Setting

Ferris State University is a public institution found in Big Rapids, Michigan. Big Rapids is a great place for students who enjoy small town life. Get more details about the location of Ferris State University.

Location of Ferris State University

Contact details for Ferris State University can be found below.

Contact Details
Address: 1201 S State St, Big Rapids, MI 49307-2251
Phone: 2315912000
Website: www.ferris.edu/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/FerrisState
Twitter: twitter.com/FerrisState

Ferris State University Areas of Study

28 Majors With Completions
5,964 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 28 majors graduated from Ferris State University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 2,982 NA
Business Administration & Management 264 $42,911
Criminal Justice & Corrections 241 $39,619
Industrial Production Technology 122 $70,938
Nursing 118 $65,491
Mechanical Engineering 109 $64,480
Social Work 107 $37,985
Liberal Arts General Studies 97 $32,578
Precision Metal Working 88 NA
Pharmacy/Pharmaceutical Sciences 88 $110,849

Learn more about the majors offered at Ferris State University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Distance Learning at Ferris

55% Take At Least One Class Online
16% Take All Classes Online

Online learning options are becoming more and more popular at American colleges and universities. Online classes are great for students who have busy schedules or for those who just want to study on their own time.

4,421 students took at least one online class at Ferris State University.

Learn more about online learning at Ferris State University.

Comparable CollegesCurious how schools stack up against Ferris? Pit them head to head with College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

References and Footnotes

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options