College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Kettering University

MISmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #649 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Its Azimuth composite measure lands in the 56th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Kettering University is a private nonprofit university in Flint, Michigan, built almost entirely around engineering. The degree mix is the story: Engineering accounts for the vast majority of bachelor's degrees, and nearly every degree awarded is in a STEM field.

Return is among the highest we track, while access and affordability sit below the levels seen at many peers. Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them.

The model attributes more of that gain to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain. Most graduates are estimated to go into the workforce rather than on to further study, so the four-year earnings picture captures most outcomes.

The aid and access picture is mixed. The for the lowest income band is well below the published cost, but the spread between the lowest and highest bands is wide.

Pell recipients complete at a rate that trails the cohort as a whole, and mobility is modestly below average. The admission rate is close to the median for comparable institutions, and the university's focus is narrow.

A student who wants a broad liberal arts curriculum or a wide range of majors will not find it here.

Kettering University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
78.7%
Six-year completion[2]
70.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$99,943

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$31,544
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$35,000

Kettering University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Kettering University enrolls 1,205 undergraduates as a private nonprofit university in Flint, Michigan, and its composite standing sits roughly in the middle of nonprofit four-year institutions (56th percentile). Applicants to Kettering University are admitted at a rate of 78.7%, against a median of 75.7% for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

94.3% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, against a peer median of 74.2%. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 70.8%, against a peer median of 54.9%.

An estimated 9.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year graduation figure tracks only those who started as full-time freshmen. The four sit far apart.

The return pillar is the highest of the four (97th percentile), while access is the lowest (4th percentile). Mobility and affordability fall between them (29th and 8th percentiles), leaving a lopsided shape with one pillar near the top of nonprofit four-year institutions and the others clustered far below.

Return is the clearest part of Kettering University’s profile, with Azimuth placing it in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is the university’s strongest pillar.

Azimuth places mobility in the 29th percentile, affordability in the 8th percentile, and access in the 4th percentile, its weakest pillar. The return result sits apart from the lower affordability and access placements.

Pell Grants go to 17.0% of undergraduates. Among enrolled students who submitted scores, the middle 50% of SATs ran from 1,160 to 1,330 and the ACT middle 50% from 26 to 30.

Pell recipients finish at 55.9%, 14.9 percentage points below the six-year rate for the entering cohort as a whole (70.8%). For access, Azimuth ranks Kettering University #1,405 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth ranks the university #1,038 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Kettering University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#649

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 29
Access & reach
National percentile: 4
Affordability
National percentile: 8
Return on investment
National percentile: 97

01 / Kettering University briefing

Kettering University cost & financial aid[6][7]

At Kettering University, aid lowers the published price, yet the average cost for recipients remains above that of comparable colleges. The standard cost of attendance is $61,250, made up in part of tuition and fees of $48,470 and room and board of $10,400.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $34,660. Financial aid offsets $26,590 of the published cost on average.

Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $22,347; this university's average is $12,313 above that benchmark. Azimuth ranks the university #1,308 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That price gap and affordability standing point in the same direction.

For families considering Kettering University, published costs remain high even after aid: the cost of attendance is $61,250. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $24,910 for the lowest family-income band, $23,273 for the lower-middle band, $31,544 for the middle band, $33,401 for the upper-middle band, and $39,399 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,489, and Azimuth ranks the university #1,308 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 43% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, rather than promising that result for every family.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $34,660, with $26,590 in average aid savings against the sticker price. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347; Kettering's average is $12,313 above it.

Published tuition and fees are $48,470, and room and board are $10,400. Borrowing is common at completion: median federal student loan debt among borrowers who complete is $27,000.

That is $2,000 above the $25,000 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and 94.8% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $35,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$31,544

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Kettering University

Kettering University pairs a high federal borrowing share with debt levels that vary widely among borrowers who complete. Federal loans are used by 94.8% of federal aid recipients, and median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $25,000, leaving the university's median $2,000 above that benchmark. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,000.

Kettering University has a strong return picture centered on earnings well after students finish. Graduates working and not enrolled have median earnings of $99,943 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations also favor the university.

That measure compares what graduates earn to what the model expects for similar students. Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The downside earnings scenario is $91,693, the typical scenario is $99,943, and the upside scenario is $113,106.

Median federal debt is $2,000 above the $25,000 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. High modeled earnings sit alongside debt above the peer benchmark.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing at Kettering University is $35,000. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$27,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$35,000

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$445/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Kettering University briefing

Kettering University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Kettering University’s return case begins with four-year earnings that stand above those at comparable institutions. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that earnings-beyond-expectations result sits in the 98th percentile.

Of the modeled gap, the model attributes $15,327 to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market), a share that adds to expected earnings. It attributes $9,793 to a remainder it does not explain, which adds.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $99,943 four years after completion, in the 97th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, placing the university $44,028 above it. The model result and peer comparison point the same way.

Four years after completing a degree, Kettering University graduates earn a median of $99,943, placing the university in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The figure is based on an earnings cohort of 446 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled.

Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that gap at the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios based on the program mix put typical earnings at $99,943, with a downside scenario of $91,693 and an upside scenario of $113,106.

An estimated 23.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The earnings picture is concentrated in engineering and computing fields, which account for the vast majority of degrees awarded.

Kettering University posts median earnings of $99,943 four years after completion, placing that figure in the 97th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, with the university $44,028 above it.

Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 98th percentile.

Azimuth ranks Kettering University #39 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Downside and upside earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix are $91,693 and $113,106.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $15,327. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $9,793.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $14,561. Computer Engineering has the highest listed program median: 35 degrees awarded and $120,531 in median earnings four years after completion.

That figure stands at 1.11x of the national median for its field. Electrical Engineering recorded 35 degrees awarded and $109,977 in median earnings; Computer Science recorded 38 degrees awarded and $106,638; and Chemical Engineering recorded 24 degrees awarded and $103,868.

These listed fields place several program medians near or above the institutional figure.

Kettering University’s earnings scenarios set an earnings range from $91,693 on the downside to $113,106 on the upside, with the overall median as the typical scenario. These are scenarios based on program mix, rather than observed graduate groups.

Four years after completion, program medians are $120,531 in Computer Engineering, $109,977 in Electrical Engineering, and $106,638 in Computer Science. The first program exceeds the upside scenario, while the other two fall within the modeled range.

High earnings at Kettering University sit alongside a price above comparable institutions and borrower debt that is also above peers. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $34,660.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $22,347, and this university is above it by $12,313. Across family-income bands, average net price is $24,910 for families earning under $30,000, $23,273 for families earning $30,001–$48,000, $31,544 for families earning $48,001–$75,000, $33,401 for families earning $75,001–$110,000, and $39,399 for families earning over $110,000.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000; the peer median is $25,000, and the university is above it by $2,000. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.

Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students. Above-expected earnings and costs above peers pull in different directions.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$15,327
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$9,793
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$25,120

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Kettering University briefing

Kettering University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In the reported entering-class cycle, Kettering University admitted 78.7% of applicants, meaning that offers went to a majority of that applicant pool. The rate is above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
78.7%
Approximate lower endpoint
1160
Reported average
1251
Approximate upper endpoint
1330

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Kettering University briefing

What are the largest majors at Kettering University?[12]

Kettering University’s largest programs cluster in engineering and computing, with four-year earnings varying even within that technical focus. Computer Engineering sits at the higher end: its completers had median earnings of $120,531 four years after completion, alongside 35 degrees awarded.

Electrical Engineering also posted $109,977 with 35 degrees awarded. Computer Science recorded median earnings of $106,638 and 38 degrees awarded.

At a more moderate point in this group, Mechanical Engineering had median earnings of $99,292 four years after completion and 193 degrees awarded. The figures show that the earnings picture differs by field, including among the university’s biggest programs.

Engineering accounts for 85.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, so the university's degree output is concentrated in technical fields. Published earnings cover 6 fields, and the largest programs show how that concentration appears across degree awards and earnings. All listed medians are measured four years after completion.

Kettering University is an institution built around a single program family: Engineering accounts for 85.5% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Computer & Information Sciences a distant second at 10.2% and Business at 2.7%. The university has 6 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The largest program is Mechanical Engineering, at 193 degrees awarded, followed by Computer Science with 38 and Computer Engineering with 35. The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where graduates earn a median of $120,531 four years after completion.

Electrical Engineering follows at $109,977, with 35 degrees awarded. Mechanical Engineering, the largest program, reports median earnings of $99,292, a benchmark ratio of 1.08x against the national median for its field.

Computer Science graduates earn $106,638, right at the national median for the field. The pattern is concentrated: nearly all degrees are in engineering and computing, and 98.0% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The earnings spread across the largest programs runs from $86,265 in Industrial Engineering to the top of the range in Computer Engineering. Most programs sit above the national median for their fields.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Mechanical Engineering 193 degrees awarded
$99,292
Computer Science 38 degrees awarded
$106,638
Computer Engineering 35 degrees awarded
$120,531
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering 35 degrees awarded
$109,977
Industrial Engineering 27 degrees awarded
$86,265
Chemical Engineering 24 degrees awarded
$103,868

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Kettering University briefing

How does Kettering University serve students from different backgrounds?

Modeled earnings give Kettering University a favorable outcome signal: Graduates earn about $25,120 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, stands in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Completion tells a more uneven story. The first-time full-time cohort has a 70.8% six-year graduation rate; Pell recipients complete within six years at 55.9%, below the overall rate by 14.9 percentage points.

Azimuth assigns the mobility pillar a 29th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Higher-than-expected earnings coexist with a lower mobility placement and a completion gap.

Kettering University admits 78.7% of applicants, but its broader access profile sits near the bottom of nonprofit four-year institutions. The private nonprofit university enrolls 1,205 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 17.0% of undergraduates, and an estimated 9.9% enter as transfers or part-time students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar is in the 4th percentile.

Admission, Pell participation, and transfer entry point to a limited access profile.

06 / Kettering University briefing

What colleges are similar to Kettering University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Kettering University.

Admissions peerMichigan State University84.8% admitted
Comparison with Kettering University
MeasureKettering UniversityMichigan State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$99,943$74,093-$25,850 vs Kettering University
Average annual net price$34,660$19,680-$14,980 vs Kettering University · lower cost
Admission rate78.7%84.8%
Explore Michigan State University →
Higher-admission alternativeMassachusetts Maritime Academy94.7% admitted
Comparison with Kettering University
MeasureKettering UniversityMassachusetts Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$99,943$103,680+$3,737 vs Kettering University
Average annual net price$34,660$21,582-$13,078 vs Kettering University · lower cost
Admission rate78.7%94.7%
Explore Massachusetts Maritime Academy →
Nearby alternativeLawrence Technological UniversityNearby option · MI
Comparison with Kettering University
MeasureKettering UniversityLawrence Technological University
Peer earnings · 4 years$99,943$90,760-$9,183 vs Kettering University
Average annual net price$34,660$32,918-$1,742 vs Kettering University · lower cost
Admission rate78.7%55.9%
Explore Lawrence Technological University →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor$13,138 average net price
Comparison with Kettering University
MeasureKettering UniversityUniversity of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Peer earnings · 4 years$99,943$96,159-$3,784 vs Kettering University
Average annual net price$34,660$13,138-$21,522 vs Kettering University · lower cost
Admission rate78.7%15.6%
Explore University of Michigan-Ann Arbor →
Similar profileUniversity of St FrancisMatched across several measures
Comparison with Kettering University
MeasureKettering UniversityUniversity of St Francis
Peer earnings · 4 years$99,943$75,229-$24,714 vs Kettering University
Average annual net price$34,660$13,006-$21,654 vs Kettering University · lower cost
Admission rate78.7%65.3%
Explore University of St Francis →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings