Private nonprofit · University

Cornerstone University

Grand Rapids, Michigan · Midsize city

77.8%
Admit rate
$20,301
Avg net price
62%
Graduation rate
$47,314
Median earnings

Cornerstone University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan (midsize city setting), enrolling 1,298 undergraduates. It has a Interdenominational religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,298 undergradsMidsize cityAccessible · 78% admitNAIA Division ICold wintersSnowy

About Grand Rapids, Michigan

Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. After the French established territories in Michigan, Jesuit missionaries and traders traveled down Lake Michigan and its tributaries. In 1969, Alexander Calder's abstract sculpture, La Grande Vitesse, which translates from French as "the great swiftness" or more loosely as "grand rapids," was installed downtown on Vandenberg Plaza, the redesigned setting of Grand Rapids City Hall. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Midsize city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
32 miles
Nearest airport
8 miles to Gerald R. Ford (GRR) · major hub

How Cornerstone University compares

Selectivity77.8%

More selective than 49% · #19 most selective of 43 in Michigan

Graduation rate62%

Higher than 63% · #18 of 44 in Michigan

First-year retention78%

Higher than 57%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$47,314

Higher than 31% · #37 of 45 in Michigan

Average net price$20,301

Cheaper than 49% · #30 cheapest of 44 in Michigan

Median debt at graduation$25,000

Lower than 34%

Student–faculty ratio15 : 1

Lower than 35%

Undergraduate enrollment1,298

Larger than 45%

Percentiles compare Cornerstone University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Michigan.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

1,639students
  • Undergraduate1,29879%
  • Graduate34121%

Undergraduates by gender

1,298undergrads
  • Women84765%
  • Men45135%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White70%
  • Black6.6%
  • Hispanic6.2%
  • Asian1.6%
  • Other or multiracial15%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,298
Graduate enrollment
341
Student–faculty ratio
15 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
33%
First-generation students
35%
Students over 25
14%
Median family income
$49,808
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$64,071
Endowment
$17,011,940

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
77.8%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$23,000
Room & board
$12,700
Books & supplies
$560
Total cost of attendance
$42,043
Average net price
$20,301

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
62%
Graduated on time (4 years)
56%
First-year retention
78%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$42,598
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$47,314
Median debt at graduation
$25,000
Students with federal loans
52%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
55%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
56%
Low-income (Pell)
41%
First-generation
41%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
780
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
60%
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NAIA Division I
Varsity athletes
626 (339 men · 287 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (12)

Track and Field (Indoor)109
Track and Field (Outdoor)109
Soccer93
Basketball68
Baseball55
Cross Country48
Softball33
Volleyball33
Wrestling32
Golf19
Other Sports16
Tennis11

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
4

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,695 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

2.0reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year1.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
1.3
Fondling
0.3
Robbery
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$20,177
$30–48k
$17,674
$48–75k
$17,872
$75–110k
$18,489
$110k+
$23,135

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$74,205

$17,872/year × about 4.2 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$14,230
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 100% — get grant money from Cornerstone University itself, averaging $14,230, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 285 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$47,314
Typical debt at graduation
$25,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
53%
Out-earn a HS grad
61%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.3 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$41,190
Men
$56,354

Men out-earn women by $15,164 (37%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
82°F
Winter low
17°F
Annual rain
39.6″
Annual snow
74.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.24.4JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, E Grand Rapids, MI US station (3 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Cornerstone University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Cornerstone University side by side →

Colleges near Cornerstone University

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.