Great Lakes Christian College
Lansing, Michigan · Private Nonprofit
ROI Score: 12/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Great Lakes Christian College scores 12 (Below Benchmark). Tuition is $19,520, net price after aid is $15,524, and four-year total cost runs $62,096. The headline anomaly: median earnings ten years out are just $31,053, actually below typical high-school-graduate earnings - earnings premium is negative at -0.064 and the payback period registers as 999 years, meaning earnings never recoup cost. Median debt of $18,779 against $31,053 earnings produces a 0.907 debt-to-earnings ratio. Completion is 36%. Repayment data is partially imputed. The honest read: GLCC trains students for ministry roles in Christian Churches/Churches of Christ congregations where compensation is structurally modest. Conventional ROI is severely negative; mission-fit ROI may be the metric students should evaluate instead.
How Great Lakes Christian College scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score12/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- 6-year graduation rate36.0% - The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our score, since a degree that is not finished rarely pays back.
- Payback period>50 years - In our estimate, the earnings premium over a high school completer is small next to the cost, so the cost may not be recouped within a working career.
Great Lakes Christian College
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $19,520/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $19,520/yr |
| Average net price | $15,524/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $62,096 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $31,053 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $20,700 |
| Median debt at graduation | $18,779 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $199 |
| Estimated payback period | >50 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 36.0% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 197 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $19,520/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $15,524/year, or roughly $62,096 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $12,510/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $21,553/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $18,779, which works out to about $199 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($20,700) and comes to 0.91, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $12,510 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $16,854 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $14,394 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $18,309 |
| $110,001+ | $21,553 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families under $30,000 pay $12,510 per year - the lowest bracket. Combined with Pell, the effective cost is modest, though still meaningful against a $31,053 ten-year earnings median. The $30,001-$48,000 bracket actually pays more at $16,854 - a notable inversion that suggests aid is concentrated at the very bottom of the income distribution.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
The $48,001-$75,000 bracket pays $14,394, lower than the $30,001-$48,000 bracket - another inversion. The $75,001-$110,000 bracket pays $18,309. These non-monotonic net-price patterns suggest GLCC's aid awards are erratic or driven by program-specific scholarships rather than predictable need-based formulas. Families should run multiple net-price calculator scenarios.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Families above $110,000 pay $21,553 - actually more than the $19,520 sticker tuition, reflecting how room and board push net price above pure-tuition figures. At full-pay, the conventional ROI math is severely negative; only mission fit justifies this price point.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | N/A | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | N/A | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 39.2% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 51.6% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Great Lakes Christian College’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Enrollment | 197 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 53.1% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $4,828 |
Admission rate is not reported in current Scorecard data for Great Lakes Christian College, and no SAT/ACT mid-ranges are published. Bible colleges of this size and denominational specificity typically operate as open-admissions with faith-statement and pastor-reference requirements rather than academic selectivity. The 36% completion rate suggests that even with mission-fit filtering, persistence is a challenge - possibly tied to the modest career outcomes ahead and the financial pressure many students face.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Lakes Christian College (this school) | 12 | $15,524 | $31,053 |
| Trinity Bible College and Graduate School | 18 | $19,359 | $35,604 |
| Toccoa Falls College | 16 | $21,642 | $36,630 |
| Southwestern Christian University | 14 | $20,146 | $40,391 |
| Arlington Baptist University | 14 | $24,906 | $44,644 |
| Emmanuel University | 12 | $20,925 | $38,208 |
Who Thrives Here
With 197 students and a 53.1% Pell rate, GLCC serves a small, working-class evangelical student body - predominantly from Christian Churches/Churches of Christ congregations preparing for pastoral, youth-ministry, missionary, or worship-leader vocations. Strong fit: students with a clear ministry calling and family/church support for that path. Poor fit: students who haven't committed to ministry or who need a marketable secular credential. This is a mission-driven institution where students should not be optimizing for earnings.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Great Lakes Christian College scores 12/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $15,524 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $31,053 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, its 36.0% graduation rate, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.91 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a long payback period.
Median debt of $18,779 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $20,700 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.91. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. Your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Great Lakes Christian College: Common Questions
Is Great Lakes Christian College worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Great Lakes Christian College scores 12/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $15,524 a year after aid against $31,053 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at more than 50 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Great Lakes Christian College cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $15,524 a year, or roughly $62,096 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Great Lakes Christian College graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $31,053 ten years after enrolling, at or below the $41,800 median for high-school graduates (NCES, 2022). With little earnings gap to cover the cost, the financial return is hard to make.
How long does it take to pay off Great Lakes Christian College?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at more than 50 years for Great Lakes Christian College. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Great Lakes Christian College graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $18,779, against average earnings of $20,700 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.91. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. How much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Great Lakes Christian College?
The six-year graduation rate is 36.0%. The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.