That is all right. That is why official data exists—the data the United States government collects every year about every university in the country. Here I translate it for you, one item at a time, so you can understand what kind of school Graceland University-Lamoni is before your child has to decide whether to put it on the list, visit it, or commit to attending.
One warning before we begin: nothing that follows tells you whether this school is good or bad for your child. It tells you what it is. The difference matters.
What Kind of University Is It?
Graceland University-Lamoni is in Lamoni, Iowa, in Decatur County. The area surrounding the campus is remote rural, far from any large urban area. If your family does not live nearby, be clear about this from the start: you will have to figure out where your child would live and how your child would get around, because the school is in a town, not a city with readily available public transportation.
It is a private, nonprofit institution offering programs of four years or more. The federal system that classifies the country’s universities lists it as a master’s institution with larger programs and also reports that it offers programs through the doctoral level. That does not mean the program your child wants is available there or that there is a clear path from a bachelor’s degree to graduate study in that specific field. It is an institutional fact, not a program map. Verify the exact program before assuming anything.
Another piece of context: the same federal classification identifies it as a highly residential school—one where, at the time measured, half or more of its undergraduate students lived in institution-owned housing—and as a place attended by a substantial number of transfer students. If your child is considering enrolling here after attending another university, ask in writing which courses will count and which will not. The label “high transfer-in” tells you nothing about how many credits are lost along the way.
And one clarification worth making right away: Graceland University-Lamoni is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. That is not a judgment, and it says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child would feel there. Ask about that directly: what student groups it has, what cultural centers exist today, and, better yet, talk with someone who is already studying there.
A Small Community, With Few Latino Students
Here is a number that probably matters to you: among the undergraduate students the school reported in fall 2023, 13 out of every 100 are Hispanic or Latino. It is a small minority. Compared with the other 941 similar private four-year schools, this figure ranks slightly above the group’s midpoint, without reaching the top positions.
Their small numbers do not take the school off your list, but this is information you should have before your child gets into a car headed for Iowa. During the visit, ask what specifically exists for Latino students: a student group, a cultural center, or someone in the admissions or support office who speaks Spanish.
Other features of this community: there are more men than women (40 out of every 100 are women), adults ages 25 to 64 make up a small group (11 out of every 100), and fewer than one-quarter of first-time students—18 out of every 100—reported permanent residency in Iowa. The rest come from other states or other countries, or their residency was not recorded. This figure does not measure distance or travel costs; if your child would have to fly or drive a long distance, calculate that separately by reviewing the school’s published expense budget.
As for size: the official fall count was 1,195 students, making it a mid-sized school among its peers. But pay attention to that figure: 902 are undergraduates and 293 are graduate students. If your child is just beginning a bachelor’s degree, the figure that matters is 902, not the total. The total is inflated by people who already hold a degree.
How the Academic Year Works
Graceland University-Lamoni operates on a trimester calendar: the year is divided into three terms of about 15 weeks each. The school reported that it accepts credit for AP exams as well as what the government calls “credit for life experiences”—independent study, work experience, prior licenses, military training, and other pathways. It also enrolls high school students in college courses for credit through a formal program.
Here is the part that truly matters for your wallet: the school’s statement that it accepts AP does not mean it awards credit for every exam your child takes. We do not know what score it requires or how many credits it awards. Ask for the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not count those savings in your budget until you have it in hand.
As for what students study there: in the latest year reported, the school awarded 204 bachelor’s degrees across 19 program families. The family with by far the most degrees was health professions: 75 of the 204, or 37 out of every 100. That is a real concentration, although the figure does not measure the quality of those programs or tell you whether the exact program your child wants is still active today. Ask the department directly.
One more fact about daily classroom life: the ratio of students to full-time-equivalent faculty is 14 to 1. That sounds low compared with the world at large, but among schools similar to this one, it falls in the quartile with the highest ratios. Both things are true at the same time, which is why it matters to compare schools of the same type rather than just any schools. This figure also does not tell you the actual size of a class; that information is not in the report.
The school also reports structured opportunities such as study abroad and several pathways to teacher certification, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
Getting In: What They Require and What Actually Happens
Graceland University-Lamoni does not have an open admissions policy. It reviews several components before saying yes. Of the nine considerations the government tracks, it marked two as required: the high school record and high school GPA. Other components are not required but are considered if you submit them: class rank, the personal essay, and letters of recommendation. The published application fee is $0.
We do not know how much weight each component carries in the final decision. Before your child completes the application, it is worth calling admissions and asking directly about your child’s particular situation.
Now, what actually happened in the 2023 cycle: of the 2,259 first-time applicants, 1,880 were offered admission. That is 83 out of every 100. Seven or eight out of ten received a yes. Compared with other selective private schools, this figure ranks near the middle, slightly above the midpoint. It is not a school that rejects most applicants; it is relatively accessible. But that figure comes from a single cycle, not a fixed rule. When it is your child’s turn, check the figure for the relevant year.
Here is a twist worth understanding clearly: out of every 100 students admitted, only 13 ultimately enrolled. Put another way, out of every 8 young people who received a yes, roughly one decided to attend. Compared with similar schools, this figure ranks on the low side—a larger share of admitted students enroll at most of those schools.
Do not read that as a mark against the school. The fact that most admitted students did not enroll says nothing about the quality of Graceland University-Lamoni; the record does not explain why each person chose what they chose. What others decided also does not tell you what the school will offer your child. What does matter is waiting for your own letter with the net price—what the year will actually cost your family—before deciding whether the school stays on the list.
Regarding standardized tests, the school reported that it does not consider SAT or ACT scores in the admission decision, even if you send them. That checkbox does not tell you whether it uses them for scholarships or to place your child in certain courses; ask about that separately.
And regarding transfers out of this school: among the first-time, full-time students who entered in 2017, only 4 out of every 100 transferred to another institution without completing here. Few leave. That does not say how many ultimately graduated; that is a different count, discussed later.
The Sticker Price and What Students Actually Pay
At Graceland University-Lamoni, among 63 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $14,414. Among 22 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $14,173; among 22 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $19,613. For dependent students, the band includes both their parents’ income and their own.
There is a difference of $5,199 between the average for the lowest-income band (63 students) and the average for the highest-income band (22 students). Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $16,632.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same period coverage, this school ranks in the least expensive quartile for the lowest-income families after grants and scholarships are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a fact worth considering when you build the list of schools to apply to.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.
The Aid Students Receive and the Debt They Carry
93 out of every 100 degree-seeking students here received a grant or scholarship that does not have to be repaid. It is the norm, not the exception. Among those who received it, the annual average was $26,792. That is real money, but it is not a price: the average includes people who received much more and people who received much less. What determines affordability is not the size of the discount but what remains after it is subtracted.
47 out of every 100 students received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.
Now for the loan portion, which deserves a careful reading: 73 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 academic year. That is the majority. Compared with similar schools, this share ranks on the high side—at most of those schools, fewer students borrow. Among those who did borrow, the annual average was $7,315.
If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years of the degree, the total would be around $29,260, not including interest. That figure is decided before the first signature, not at the end. And an important clarification: that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes end up signing for, bank debt, or credit card debt. Nor is it the total debt someone has upon graduation; that figure is not in this report.
Financing an education with debt is common here. That does not determine whether your child will need it—that comes from the individual aid letter—but it does tell you that it is worth doing the full calculation before accepting anything. If the offer includes a loan, ask for the estimated monthly payment before signing.
The school also reports offering an installment tuition payment plan, in case that helps you organize the family budget.
Campus Life, Sports, and Support
Graceland University-Lamoni has its own housing, with a reported capacity of 768 students. It does not require all first-time students to live there, but that does not mean no individual program has that requirement; ask about your child’s specific case. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. The existence of a room does not guarantee an available bed: ask in writing for the annual rate, the housing application deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed or you would be put on a waiting list.
Regarding ROTC, the school did not mark any ROTC opportunity in its most recent report, either in the general checkbox or for any specific branch. More than half of the four-year schools in this guide did mark one; this school was not among them. That does not prove no nearby option exists—it only means one was not reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
In sports, it competes at the intercollegiate level and is affiliated with the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics), with reported teams in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. This fact does not say how many places are available or whether a particular sport offers scholarships. If your child plays, write directly to that sport’s coach and ask for the answer in writing.
It also offers distance education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, although in practice that is the exception: only 2 out of every 100 undergraduate students took all their classes at a distance; the other 98 took at least one in-person class. The school reported offering at least one complete distance education program, but the data does not confirm the level or field—that must be confirmed directly.
The library has paid staff, spending that exceeds the $100,000 threshold tracked by the government, physical and digital collections, and interlibrary lending. Reported support services also include combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military service members, and a published webpage for services for students with disabilities.
How Many Stay and How Many Graduate
This is probably the most difficult section of the article. I ask you to read it all the way through without skipping to the end.
Of the first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in fall 2022, 64 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already graduated one year later. That leaves 36 out of every 100 outside that outcome. The data does not say what happened to them: it does not distinguish between someone who transferred, paused their studies, started working, or left for any other reason. Compared with similar selective private schools, this retention rate ranks near the bottom of the group.
And here is the graduation figure, probably the one that matters most to you: of the 253 students who entered a bachelor’s degree program in 2017, attended full time, and had not previously attended college, 97 were recorded as having graduated from this same school six years later. That is 38 out of every 100. At the four-year mark, the figure falls to 30 out of every 100. Compared with nearly one thousand similar selective private schools, Graceland University-Lamoni ranks in the bottom quartile: three out of four schools in that group reported a larger share of graduates.
It is worth looking at the complete breakdown of those 253 students because the rounded figure hides important nuances: 97 graduated here; 0 completed a short program here; 11 transferred without completing and continued at another institution; 2 were still enrolled here without having finished; and 143 fell into the “no longer enrolled” category at the time of measurement. That last category does not say why they left and may include people who finished after the measured period. Moreover, this percentage applies to the entire school; it is not broken down by program. If your child is pursuing a specific program, ask the department directly for that figure.
There is one more figure that offers a different perspective: when tracking a complete cohort of undergraduate students—including those who entered with prior college experience and those who studied part time—who enrolled between 2015 and 2016, 62 out of every 100 held a degree or certificate from this school eight years later. Within that group, Pell Grant recipients graduated at a rate of 53 out of every 100, eighteen points below those who did not receive one. And the first-time, full-time subcohort was at 47 out of every 100—fifteen points below the broader group.
We do not know why the rest are not recorded as having earned a credential. The data does not say. What you can do is ask the school very clearly: what advisor would be assigned to your child, what emergency assistance is available if something becomes difficult midway through, and whether institutional scholarships are renewed every year or students must qualify again. Ask for the answers in writing.
What This Means for Your Family
You now know one important piece of the puzzle: what Graceland University-Lamoni is according to official government data. You know it is a small school in a rural Iowa town, with relatively accessible admission but few admitted students deciding to enroll. You know the sticker price sounds high, but lower-income families tend to end up paying less than they would at similar schools. You know most students receive aid and most also borrow. And you know that, out of every ten students who begin a bachelor’s degree, fewer than four earn a degree from the school within the expected time frame.
None of this tells you whether this school is right for your child. That depends on two other pieces this article cannot provide: what your child wants to study and has accomplished so far, and what your family can and is willing to pay. Combine those pieces with what you learned here, and a real plan begins to emerge from that combination.
If your child already has this school on the list, the next concrete step is to use the net price calculator on its website and call admissions with specific questions about your child’s situation. If your child is just beginning to build a list, this article gives you a benchmark for comparison with other schools you are considering. Either way, you are not starting from scratch.
Source note: The information in this article comes from official data reported by the institution to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System), primarily for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles, depending on the indicator. Best College Aid does not represent Graceland University-Lamoni or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data to help families understand it.