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McNeese State University Comprehensive Profile

103 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
78% Acceptance Rate

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

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* Rankings

How Does McNeese State University Stack Up?

#1,679 Best Colleges in Nation
#12 Best Colleges in LA
McNeese State University ranking badge

2026 Rankings

College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities in its annual rankings and ranks them in a variety of ways, including most diverse, best overall quality, best for non-traditional students, and much more.

McNeese State University was awarded 103 badges in the 2026 rankings.

Overall Ranking

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, McNeese is ranked #1,679 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

McNeese is also ranked #12 on the Best Colleges in Louisiana list.

See all of the rankings for McNeese State University.

How Difficult Is Admission to McNeese State University?

78% Acceptance Rate
78% Of Accepted Are Women
7% Submit SAT Scores

Getting Accepted

McNeese State University has an acceptance rate of 78%, which makes it somewhat selective. Make sure it’s not the only school you apply to, even if it’s your school of choice. Whether you get in or not will largely depend on how you compare to other applicants.

Standardized Test Scores

About 7% of students accepted to McNeese submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 490 and 610. Math scores were between 450 and 588.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for McNeese State University  ( 490 to 610 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for McNeese State University  ( 450 to 588 )
200
800

McNeese received ACT scores from 86% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 18 and 23.

ACT Composite Scores for McNeese State University  ( 18 to 23 )
1
36

Learn more about McNeese State University admissions.

Faculty at McNeese State University

20 to 1 Student to Faculty
100% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

At McNeese State University, the student to faculty ratio is 20 to 1. Compared to the national average of 15 to 1, this is somewhat high. This could mean that class sizes may be larger than they are at other colleges or universities or that professors may be required to teach more classes.

Full-Time Faculty Share

Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.

The full-time faculty percentage at McNeese State University is 100%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  100 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at McNeese State University

71% Freshmen Retention
52% On-Time Graduation Rate

Freshman Success

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 McNeese State University is 71%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.

Freshmen Retention Rate  71 out of 100
0
100

Time to Degree

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at McNeese for first-time, full-time students is 52%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  52 out of 100
0
100

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

Diversity Profile of McNeese State University

4,846 Undergraduate Students
29.7% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
61.8% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 4,846 undergraduates at McNeese.

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

What Does McNeese State University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
32% Take Out Loans
$26,300 Total Student Loans

The overall average net price of McNeese 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 McNeese

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$8,431 $8,219 $12,263 $15,353 $17,328

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 McNeese, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Borrowing and Loans

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 McNeese, approximately 32% of students took out student loans averaging $6,575 a year. That adds up to $26,300 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 10.0%. This is about the same as the national default rate of 10.1%. Get more details about paying for McNeese State University.

Post-Graduation Earnings for McNeese State University

$46,453 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from McNeese State University make around $46,453 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.

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

Location of McNeese State University

Louisiana State
4,846 Undergraduate Students
Small City Campus Setting

McNeese State University is a public institution found in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of McNeese State University.

Location of McNeese State University

Contact details for McNeese State University are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 4205 Ryan St, Lake Charles, LA 70605
Phone: 3374755000
Website: www.mcneese.edu
Facebook: www.facebook.com/McNeeseStateU
Twitter: twitter.com/McNeese

McNeese State University Academic Programs

20 Majors With Completions
2,488 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 20 majors graduated from McNeese 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 1,244 NA
Nursing 200 $69,922
Liberal Arts General Studies 180 $25,939
Business Administration & Management 125 $37,248
Health & Physical Education 83 $27,209
General Psychology 72 $30,740
General Agriculture 49 $30,681
Criminal Justice & Corrections 45 $34,351
General Biology 39 NA
Accounting 39 $37,474

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

Online Study Options at McNeese

81% Take At Least One Class Online
18% Take All Classes Online

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

3,920 students took at least one online class at McNeese State University.

Learn more about online learning at McNeese State University.

Comparable CollegesCurious how schools stack up against McNeese? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.

Data Sources and References

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

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