Ferris State University

Ferris State University maintains an accessible admissions profile, though its ability to enroll accepted applicants is relatively low. In the 2027 US News rankings, the university placed at rank 317, moving slightly from rank 329 in 2026. Gaining admission is straightforward for most candidates. For the 2025 entering class, the overall acceptance rate stood at 91.4%, which is higher than 80% of peer schools in its comparison group of public comprehensive universities with similar rankings. Both male and female applicants faced similarly open outcomes. However, the university experiences a low draw among accepted candidates once decisions are delivered. Ferris State recorded an undergraduate yield rate of 14.7% in 2025, which is higher than only 13% of peer schools in that same group. This indicates that the vast majority of admitted students opt to attend other institutions. For prospective students, these admissions trends confirm that obtaining an acceptance letter is very attainable, requiring less competitive credentials than more selective state options.

Ferris State University maintains accessible academic criteria, where standard classroom performance and modest standardized test results are typically sufficient for admission. Standardized testing has shifted heavily toward the SAT, with ACT submissions accounting for only a trace percentage of applicants. In 2025, Ferris State recorded a median SAT score of 1010, which is higher than only 8% of peer schools in its comparison group of public comprehensive universities with similar rankings. For admitted students submitting the ACT, the middle 50% composite score spanned from 20 to 24. High school grade distributions from the 2023–2024 class demonstrate broad accessibility across a wide academic spectrum, as the majority of entering freshmen arrived with cumulative high school grades spanning the B to A-minus range. For prospective applicants, these score profiles indicate that Ferris State does not demand competitive standardized testing or top class rank. Students presenting average high school grades and typical test performance can anticipate a favorable admissions review.

Academic degrees at Ferris State University show moderate concentration at the undergraduate level, while its highest-ranked programs are located in professional graduate healthcare. In 2025, the top three bachelor's majors accounted for 22.8% of all undergraduate degrees, led by Business Administration and Management, Criminal Justice, and General Studies. However, these popular undergraduate offerings do not appear among nationally recognized academic rankings. The institution's true program strengths emerge at the advanced level, where US News ranked Pharmacy at 62 in 2026 and Health Care Management at 91 in 2026. Pharmacy is also the primary doctoral discipline, awarding 103 degrees in 2025. Career outcomes demonstrate that technical and clinical training yields the strongest financial returns; based on 2023 data, bachelor's degree recipients in Industrial Production Technologies achieved median first-year earnings of $81,192, followed closely by nursing graduates. Students choosing Ferris State should recognize that while undergraduate studies focus heavily on general career preparation, specialized graduate health programs and technical majors deliver the school's strongest credentials and earnings.

Ferris State University’s student body is predominantly domestic, with White students forming the clear majority across every division and female students making up the majority of undergraduates. Asian and international students comprise very small shares of campus enrollment. In 2025, Asian students accounted for 14 first-year undergraduates, representing 0.8% of the freshman class. International freshmen totaled 23 students, making up 1.4% of the entering cohort. Representation for both groups remains limited across continuing undergraduate and graduate levels as well, with each group remaining under five percent. Across campus, non-white representation is primarily distributed among Black, Hispanic, and Pacific Islander or other minority students depending on the academic division. For prospective families and applicants, these figures mean that international and Asian students will encounter a campus environment with very few peers from similar demographic or geographic backgrounds.

The age profile at Ferris State University reflects a traditional undergraduate environment alongside a career-oriented graduate community. In 2025, undergraduate education centered heavily on traditional college-age adults, with students aged 18 to 19 accounting for 29.1% of undergraduates and those aged 20 to 21 comprising 28.3%. This creates a conventional campus atmosphere focused on emerging adults navigating bachelor's degree programs. By contrast, the graduate population is more mature and professionally diverse. Students aged 22 to 24 made up 34.5% of graduate enrollment, followed by working-age cohorts continuing through their twenties and beyond. This demographic balance means daytime undergraduate activities follow traditional collegiate rhythms, while graduate academic settings blend recent bachelor's recipients with experienced, working professionals.

International student enrollment at Ferris State University has contracted steadily over the past decade across both degree levels. At the undergraduate level, international representation declined to 1.0% in 2025, a proportion that is higher than only 7% of peer schools in its comparison group of public comprehensive universities with similar rankings. Graduate international enrollment experienced a corresponding downward trend over the same period, dropping to 4.9% in 2025. International degree recipients reflect this limited presence, comprising just over one percent of bachelor's graduates and concentrating instead in select technical and professional graduate disciplines. While large undergraduate majors such as Criminal Justice and General Studies reported zero international completions, graduate international students found strong footing in specialized quantitative areas. In 2025, international candidates accounted for 42.9% of master's graduates in Data Analytics, along with visible shares in information security and optometry. For prospective international students, these figures suggest that while the general undergraduate body has very few overseas peers, specific graduate programs offer focused academic communities.

Applicants exploring Ferris State University can consider several public and private institutions located across Michigan. Just 36 kilometers away, Central Michigan University is a public National University ranked 262 in the 2027 US News rankings. Further southeast, Michigan State University sits 83.2 kilometers from campus, holding rank 69 among National Universities as one of the state's major research institutions. To the southwest, Western Michigan University is situated 97.3 kilometers away and ranks 276 in the National University category. In that same area, 96.7 kilometers from Ferris State, Kalamazoo College offers a private liberal arts environment, holding rank 74 among National Liberal Arts Colleges. These neighboring options provide accessible alternatives with varying academic structures within a two-hour drive.

Campus safety at Ferris State University is characterized primarily by internal substance infractions rather than widespread violent crime. In 2025, the university reported a crime rate of 10.4 per 1,000 students, representing an improvement after reaching higher levels in prior cycles. An examination of campus records from 2023 to 2025 reveals that administrative disciplinary referrals make up the clear majority of logged occurrences. Disciplinary referrals for liquor law violations were the most common issue on campus, totaling 348 incidents across that three-year period, followed by 123 disciplinary referrals for drug abuse violations. Interpersonal offenses occurred with less frequency over the 2023 to 2025 period, including reports of stalking, dating violence, and sexual assault. For incoming students and their families, these numbers show an active regulatory response to campus alcohol and drug rules, alongside a safety profile that requires routine personal awareness typical of a residential public university.