Great Lakes Christian College
Lansing, Michigan · Private Nonprofit
ROI Score: 12/100 · Poor Value
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Great Lakes Christian College earns a 12 ROI score - among the lowest in the Poor Value tier - though as a small ministry-training institution, this score must be read in the context of the school's vocational focus rather than as a conventional earnings critique. 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.
The data raises concerns about Great Lakes Christian College
These metrics fall below the thresholds most financial advisors recommend for a sound college investment. Review them carefully before committing.
- ROI Score12/100 - Poor Value tier (below 45). Most 4-year schools we track score 60 or higher.
- 6-year graduation rate36.0% - Well below the 60% national average. Non-completion is the fastest route to negative ROI.
- Payback period>50 years - Graduates earn at or near the level of high school completers - the cost may not recoup 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 |
| Median 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. Here's the part that matters - almost nobody pays that. 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.
Most students borrow to get here. The median graduate leaves owing $18,779 in federal loans, which works out to about $199 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Hold that up against the $31,053 the typical graduate earns ten years out: the debt-to-earnings ratio comes to 0.91, within the range advisors call workable but worth keeping an eye on.
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 | Nat'l Avg |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | N/A | 52.0% |
| 3-year repayment | N/A | 62.0% |
| 5-year repayment | 39.2% | 68.0% |
| 7-year repayment | 51.6% | 72.0% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Great Lakes Christian College’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2023).
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.
GLCC's assigned peer set is poorly matched: Adrian College and Albion College are far stronger small Michigan liberal-arts schools; Montserrat College of Art and Art Academy of Cincinnati are urban arts institutions. Crowley's Ridge College is the closest natural peer - another small Christian-Churches-of-Christ Bible college. Better natural peers would include other Restoration Movement Bible colleges like Boise Bible College or Cincinnati Christian University. Against the assigned set, GLCC's 12 ROI is dramatically below all of them.
| 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. The conventional ROI math is brutal at any income level; this is genuinely a mission-driven institution where students should not be optimizing for earnings.
The Verdict: The Numbers Don't Add Up
We'll be straight with you: the numbers at Great Lakes Christian College are a real concern. With a net cost of $15,524 per year and the typical graduate earning only $31,053 ten years out, the estimated payback period exceeds >50 years. For most students, the financial return does not justify the cost - go in with your eyes open.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, its 36.0% graduation rate, high debt relative to what graduates earn, a long payback period.
Median debt of $18,779 against $31,053 in earnings is reasonable, though your major matters a lot here. Graduates in higher-earning fields will see the better end of this.
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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.