Public · University
Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, Louisiana · Small city
- 90.8%
- Admit rate
- $12,947
- Avg net price
- 54%
- Graduation rate
- $45,454
- Median earnings
Nicholls State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Thibodaux, Louisiana (small city setting), enrolling 4,737 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Nicholls State University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 90.8%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 934–1196
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.13
Enter a test score to see where you land against Nicholls State University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Nicholls State University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Thibodaux, Louisiana
Thibodaux is a city in and the parish seat of Lafourche Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the banks of Bayou Lafourche in the northwestern part of the parish. The colonists gradually began to import Africans in bondage as slaves to work on and develop rice and sugar cane plantations. The Roman Catholic patron saints of Thibodaux are Saint Valérie, an early Christian martyr, and Saint Vitalis of Milan, her husband, also a martyr. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 45 miles to New Orleans, LA
- To the ocean
- 29 miles
- Nearest airport
- 35 miles to Louis Armstrong New Orleans (MSY) · major hub
How Nicholls State University compares
More selective than 22% · #17 most selective of 23 in Louisiana
Higher than 27%
Higher than 48% · #8 of 25 in Louisiana
Higher than 51%
Higher than 25% · #21 of 28 in Louisiana
Cheaper than 81% · #8 cheapest of 26 in Louisiana
Lower than 55%
Lower than 14%
Larger than 77%
Percentiles compare Nicholls State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Louisiana.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate4,73790%
- Graduate52510%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women3,00763%
- Men1,73037%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White64%
- Black18%
- Hispanic6.6%
- Asian1.3%
- Other or multiracial9.8%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 4,737
- Graduate enrollment
- 525
- Student–faculty ratio
- 19 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 34%
- First-generation students
- 46%
- Students over 25
- 10%
- Median family income
- $36,747
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $62,982
- Endowment
- $16,940,430
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 1,169 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Louisiana93%
- Other U.S. states4.0%
- International3.2%
Most first-years stay in state — Nicholls State University draws overwhelmingly from Louisiana.
3% 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
- 90.8%
- Test scores
- Required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 934–1196
- SAT average
- 1090
- SAT reading
- 472–608
- SAT math
- 462–588
- ACT composite
- 19–24
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.13
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $8,149
- Out-of-state tuition
- $9,242
- Room & board
- $11,412
- Books & supplies
- $1,300
- Total cost of attendance
- $23,481
- Average net price
- $12,947
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)
- 54%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 30%
- First-year retention
- 77%
- Transferred to another college
- 24%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $38,829
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $45,454
- Median debt at graduation
- $22,675
- Students with federal loans
- 38%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 74%
About 24% 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)
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
- 1,416
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 30%
- Housing charge (year)
- $7,120
- Meal plan (year)
- $3,818
- Application fee
- $20
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FCS
- Football conference
- Southland Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 480 (280 men · 200 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 (10)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.4 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 7
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (6,043 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$12,139/year × about 4.7 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.
Modest institutional aid: 54% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $5,556. 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 965 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)
- $45,454
- Typical debt at graduation
- $22,675
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 50%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 61%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $13,914 (34%) 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
- 92°F
- Winter low
- 44°F
- Annual rain
- 71.1″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Thibodaux 4 SE, LA US station (3.2 mi from campus).
What Nicholls State University graduates study — and earn
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 Nicholls State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Nicholls State University side by side →
Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Natchitoches, Louisiana · Remote town · 66 mi to Shreveport
- Students
- 5,519
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1088
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $47k
Purdue University Fort Wayne
Fort Wayne, Indiana · Large city · 3 mi to Fort Wayne
- Students
- 5,484
- Admission
- 84%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1100
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $46k
Augusta University
Augusta, Georgia · Midsize city · 1 mi to Augusta
- Students
- 5,613
- Admission
- 86%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1070
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $48k
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Monroe, Louisiana · Small city · 98 mi to Shreveport
- Students
- 5,022
- Admission
- 85%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1116
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $47k
Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama · Midsize city · 7 mi to Montgomery
- Students
- 2,542
- Admission
- 92%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1093
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $44k
The University of Tennessee-Martin
Martin, Tennessee · Remote town · 106 mi to Memphis
- Students
- 4,866
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $11k
- SAT
- 1120
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $44k
Colleges near Nicholls State University
Fletcher Technical Community College
Schriever, LA · Public · Certificate · 2,136 students
Unitech Training Academy-Houma
Houma, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 47 students
Omega Institute of Cosmetology
Houma, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 55 students
Williams Technical College
Houma, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 28 students
LaSalle Tech
Houma, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 193 students
River Parishes Community College
Gonzales, LA · Public · Certificate · 1,880 students
Healthcare Training Institute
Kenner, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 94 students
John Jay Beauty College
Kenner, LA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 81 students
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.














