by our College Data Analytics TeamMcNeese State University is a public institution in Lake Charles, Louisiana enrolling 5,005 undergraduates. It accepts 78% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 47%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,765 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 34%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
McNeese State University ranks #1,765 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 34%.
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 41 badges in the 2027 rankings.
College Factual ranked McNeese as #1,765 out of 5,159 colleges and universities in the country on its 2027 Best Colleges list.
McNeese is also ranked #16 on the Best Colleges in Louisiana list.
See all of the rankings for McNeese State University.
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.
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.
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.
Learn more about McNeese State University admissions.
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.
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%.
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 68%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 68%.
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 47%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at McNeese State University.
During the most recent academic year, there were 5,005 undergraduates at McNeese.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at McNeese State University.
The overall average net price of McNeese is $17,140. 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.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10,482 | $11,067 | $11,640 | $16,190 | $18,250 |
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McNeese_State_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/McNeeseStateU |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/McNeese |
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 | 1,226 | NA |
| Liberal Arts General Studies | 232 | $25,703 |
| Nursing | 170 | $69,475 |
| Business Administration & Management | 142 | $37,248 |
| Health & Physical Education | 80 | $26,766 |
| General Psychology | 64 | $30,268 |
| General Agriculture | 56 | $30,681 |
| Criminal Justice & Corrections | 55 | $34,401 |
| General Biology | 40 | NA |
| Teacher Education Grade Specific | 30 | $40,649 |
3,920 students took at least one online class at McNeese State University.
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.
Learn more about online learning at McNeese State University.
Curious how schools stack up against McNeese? Match them up using College Combat, our free tool for head-to-head college comparisons.
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.
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