Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois · Private, nonprofit
Graduate earnings
have graduates earning more than a typical Illinois high-school graduate (about $36,082 a year). 1 falls short.
12 of 34 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 22 have no earnings published. 2 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 3 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$28,673 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$28,673 a year
About $114,692 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $19,605 |
| $30k to $48k | $20,210 |
| $48k to $75k | $21,481 |
| $75k to $110k | $26,055 |
| $110k and up | $35,341 |
| All families (average) | $28,673 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical Illinois high-school graduate ($36,082 a year).
12 of 37 programs could be assessed 32% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | Bachelor's Degree | $74,632 | +$38,550 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 0.7 yrs | 47 |
| Finance | Bachelor's Degree | $98,583 | +$62,501 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 0.4 yrs | 31 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $48,287 | +$12,205 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 2.2 yrs | 26 |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $53,5291-year earnings | +$17,447 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $27,000 | 1.5 yrs | 24 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $52,598 | +$16,516 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 1.6 yrs | 23 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | $26,9981-year earnings | -$9,084 | falls short (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 19 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | $58,901 | +$22,819 | clears the bar | $25,707 | 1.1 yrs | 18 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $61,770 | +$25,688 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 1.1 yrs | 18 |
| Communications and Media | Bachelor's Degree | $64,580 | +$28,498 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 0.9 yrs | 14 |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | $77,554 | +$41,472 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 0.7 yrs | 9 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $54,270 | +$18,188 | clears the bar | $27,000 | 1.5 yrs | 0 |
| Social Sciences, Other | Bachelor's Degree | $53,438 | +$17,356 | clears the bar | $26,500 | 1.5 yrs | 0 |
| Research Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | $26,250 | not assessed | 60 |
| Neuroscience | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | $27,000 | not assessed | 30 |
| Data Analytics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 21 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 17 |
| Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| International Relations | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Computer and Information Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Statistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Education | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Teacher Education (by level) | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $36,082 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
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