Lake Forest College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
Decatur, Illinois · Private nonprofit · Moderately selective
Lake Forest College is a private nonprofit university in Decatur, Illinois that admits about 54% of applicants, making it a moderately selective school. The average family pays about $8,837 a year after financial aid, which matters more than the published sticker price. It is best known for Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Business Administration, Management and Operations, its largest undergraduate programs by number of graduates. Its most recent Clery Act report shows roughly 0.0 criminal offenses per 1,000 students.
Lake Forest College is a private institution located in Decatur, Illinois with a moderately selective admissions profile. For the most recent reporting cycle, Lake Forest College admits about half to three-quarters of applicants, with an overall admission rate of 54%. Admitted students typically post an average SAT of 1050 and an ACT composite around 23. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $8,837 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Lake Forest College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Lake Forest College?
Lake Forest College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Lake Forest College typically admits
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 410–570, with an EBRW midpoint near 545. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 14–24. Many applicants here submit scores; even slightly below the average can be competitive when combined with a strong GPA and curriculum.
How much does Lake Forest College actually cost?
Published tuition is $26,892 for in-state students and $43,670 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. Room and board adds roughly $13,330 annually. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of $8,837 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 35% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
Most popular majors at Lake Forest College
The most popular undergraduate programs at Lake Forest College, measured by the number of students who actually graduate each year, are Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Business Administration, Management and Operations. Across all programs, Lake Forest College confers roughly 267 bachelor's degrees a year. Graduates of its Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft program report a median income of about $35,442 five years after entering college. Major popularity is a practical signal of where a school concentrates its teaching strength and where your child will find the deepest course offerings and peer community.
| Major | Graduates / year | Median earnings (5 yrs out) |
|---|---|---|
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 63 | $35,442 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing | 55 | $77,191 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | 36 | $59,166 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | 34 | $49,259 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | 27 | $40,735 |
| Biology, General | 26 | $59,952 |
| Music | 13 | $38,433 |
| Accounting and Related Services | 13 | $62,366 |
Is Lake Forest College safe? Campus crime & safety
In its most recent Clery Act report (2024), Lake Forest College disclosed 0 total criminal offenses across its campus and surrounding public property, about 0.0 per 1,000 students. That figure includes 0 violent offenses and 0 reported sexual assaults or VAWA offenses. Per-1,000-student rates matter more than raw counts when comparing schools, because larger universities mechanically report more incidents. Under the federal Clery Act, every college that receives federal aid must publish these numbers annually.
Other colleges in Illinois parents ask about
- University of Chicago7% acceptance
- Northwestern University5% acceptance
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign44% acceptance
- University of Illinois Chicago70% acceptance
- DePaul University55% acceptance
- Loyola University Chicago93% acceptance
- Illinois State University89% acceptance
- Southern Illinois University-Carbondale90% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Lake Forest College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Lake Forest College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Lake Forest College
What GPA do I need for Lake Forest College?
Lake Forest College admits students with a wide GPA range, but most successful applicants present an unweighted GPA of 3.3 or higher with a college-prep curriculum.
What SAT or ACT score does Lake Forest College typically admit?
The middle-50 SAT Math range is 410–570, with an EBRW midpoint near 545. The middle-50 ACT composite range is 14–24.
How much does Lake Forest College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Lake Forest College after grants and scholarships is $8,837 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Lake Forest College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Lake Forest College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
What is the acceptance rate at Lake Forest College?
Lake Forest College accepts about 54% of applicants. That makes it a moderately selective school.
Is Lake Forest College a public or private school, and where is it located?
Lake Forest College is a private nonprofit institution located in Decatur, Illinois.
What are the most popular majors at Lake Forest College?
The largest undergraduate majors at Lake Forest College by annual graduates are Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft, Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing and Business Administration, Management and Operations. The school awards about 267 bachelor's degrees a year in total. These figures come from federal IPEDS completion data.
Is Lake Forest College safe? What is its campus crime rate?
Lake Forest College reported 0 total criminal offenses in its most recent Clery Act disclosure (2024), roughly 0.0 per 1,000 students. Compare the per-1,000 rate rather than the raw total, since larger schools report more incidents.
Data sourced from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS, and Clery Act campus safety disclosures. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.