Private nonprofit · College

Martin Luther College

New Ulm, Minnesota · Distant town

87.2%
Admit rate
$18,463
Avg net price
72%
Graduation rate
$47,491
Median earnings

Martin Luther College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in New Ulm, Minnesota (distant town setting), enrolling 725 undergraduates. It has a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 725 undergradsDistant townAccessible · 87% admitNCAA Division III with football · Upper Midwest Athletic ConferenceCold wintersSnowy

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Martin Luther College's admitted students.

Admit rate
87.2%
ACT (mid 50%)
21–28
Avg GPA (est.)
3.13

Enter a test score to see where you land against Martin Luther College's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Martin Luther College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About New Ulm, Minnesota

New Ulm is a city and the county seat of Brown County, Minnesota, United States. New Ulm was founded in 1854 by the German Land Company of Chicago. It was named after the city of Ulm in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. New Ulm Turner Hall, whose oldest section was built in 1873, was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. It is the oldest Turner Hall in the United States still in its original use. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
204 miles
Nearest airport
73 miles to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport / Wold–Chamberlain Field (MSP) · major hub

How Martin Luther College compares

Selectivity87.2%

More selective than 30% · #19 most selective of 35 in Minnesota

SAT average1090

Higher than 27%

Graduation rate72%

Higher than 81% · #9 of 39 in Minnesota

First-year retention85%

Higher than 75%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$47,491

Higher than 31% · #31 of 38 in Minnesota

Average net price$18,463

Cheaper than 57% · #15 cheapest of 39 in Minnesota

Median debt at graduation$20,177

Lower than 74%

Student–faculty ratio10 : 1

Lower than 76%

Undergraduate enrollment725

Larger than 28%

Percentiles compare Martin Luther College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Minnesota.

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

833students
  • Undergraduate72587%
  • Graduate10813%

Undergraduates by gender

725undergrads
  • Women34347%
  • Men38253%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White90%
  • Black1.5%
  • Hispanic1.7%
  • Asian0.8%
  • Other or multiracial5.9%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
725
Graduate enrollment
108
Student–faculty ratio
10 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
27%
First-generation students
Students over 25
20%
Median family income
$60,924
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$45,792
Endowment
$28,011,103

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

Where students come from

Home state of the 150 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Minnesota11%
  • Other U.S. states89%
  • International0.7%

A national draw — only 11% of first-years come from Minnesota; 89% arrive from other states.

1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
87.2%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
1090
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite
21–28
Average GPA (estimated)
3.13

Cost

In-state tuition
$18,120
Room & board
$7,900
Books & supplies
$500
Total cost of attendance
$29,250
Average net price
$18,463

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)
72%
Graduated on time (4 years)
50%
First-year retention
85%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$40,760
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$47,491
Median debt at graduation
$20,177
Students with federal loans
68%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
87%

About 21% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
64%
First-generation
58%

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
717
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
99%
Application fee
$35
Athletics
NCAA Division III with football
Football conference
Upper Midwest Athletic Conference
Varsity athletes
364 (210 men · 154 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 (11)

Track and Field (Outdoor)55
Soccer53
Track and Field (Indoor)45
Football44
Cross Country40
Basketball31
Golf24
Tennis24
Baseball18
Softball15
Volleyball15

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
4.6 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
2
Property offenses (2022–2024)
10

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (878 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.

4.0reported offenses a year
0.7 violent a year3.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
3.3
Rape
0.3
Fondling
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
$11,233
$30–48k
$11,749
$48–75k
$12,811
$75–110k
$18,241
$110k+
$22,952

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
$56,953

$12,811/year × about 4.4 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.

99%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$6,003
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 99% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $6,003. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.

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 145 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)
$47,491
Typical debt at graduation
$20,177
Debt vs. one year's pay
42%
Out-earn a HS grad
46%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.2 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
$40,285
Men
$59,661

Men out-earn women by $19,376 (48%) 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
7°F
Annual rain
31.1″
Annual snow
38.3″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.55.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, New Ulm 2 SE, MN US station (0.9 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 Martin Luther College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Martin Luther College side by side →

Colleges near Martin Luther College

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.