College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

The University of Olivet

MISmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #1165 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, The University of Olivet is in Azimuth’s 21st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

The University of Olivet is a private nonprofit university in Olivet, Michigan, where Business, Parks, Recreation & Fitness, and Security & Protective Services lead the degree mix. Access is the strongest .

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The model attributes that gap to the factors it measures, which subtract from expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain also subtracts.

Return is modestly below average. Pell recipients complete at a rate above the overall cohort, and access is around the average.

The lowest income band pays less than the highest band, so the aid structure compresses the cost across incomes rather than discounting deeply at the bottom. The admission rate is above the median for comparable institutions.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the highest-earning ones.

The University of Olivet at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
83.3%
Six-year completion[2]
35.3%
Four-year earnings[3]
$52,261

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$20,564
Median student debt[4]
$27,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$23,700

The University of Olivet rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

The University of Olivet is a private nonprofit university in Olivet, Michigan, enrolling 892 undergraduates. In the Azimuth ranking of 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions, the university sits near the bottom of the field.

The university admits 83.2% of applicants, a rate that runs above the 75.7% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention trails the median among comparable institutions: 61.4% of first-time, full-time students return for a second year, against a peer median of 74.2%.

The six-year graduation rate also trails, at 35.3%, against a peer median of 54.9%. An estimated 25.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes a minority of the people who study here.

The four pillars are spread out. Access is the strongest (53rd percentile), while mobility is the weakest (10th percentile).

Return and affordability sit between them (25th and 36th percentiles respectively).

Access is the relative strength in an otherwise uneven Azimuth profile, while mobility is the clear weak point. Azimuth places The University of Olivet at the 53rd percentile for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Return stands at the 25th percentile and affordability at the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Mobility is at the 10th percentile, the weakest pillar.

49.5% of undergraduates at The University of Olivet receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks The University of Olivet #696 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 42.7%, which is 7.4 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (35.3%). Azimuth ranks the university #1,314 for mobility. Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

The University of Olivet rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#1,165

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 10
Access & reach
National percentile: 53
Affordability
National percentile: 36
Return on investment
National percentile: 25

01 / The University of Olivet briefing

The University of Olivet cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, The University of Olivet presents a lower average price than its comparable peers, although its published charges are much higher. Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $21,393, against a published cost of attendance of $47,069.

Average aid offsets $25,676 of that sticker price. Tuition and fees account for $34,068, with room and board at $12,567.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347; the university's is $954 below it. Azimuth ranks the university #904 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The lower peer comparison and aid savings point toward a lower average price for aid recipients than the published charges suggest.

The University of Olivet posts a published cost of attendance of $47,069, but average net price shifts across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $19,656 in the lowest family-income band, $20,442 in the lower-middle band, $20,564 in the middle band, $21,730 in the upper-middle band, and $24,068 in the highest band.

The gap from the lowest to the highest band is $4,412. Azimuth ranks the university #904 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $25,676 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, average net price is $21,393.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347; the university sits $954 below that mark. Published tuition and fees are $34,068, and room and board are $12,567.

Federal student loan borrowers who complete leave with median debt of $27,000, and 96.2% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, which puts the university $2,000 above that level.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $23,700.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$20,564

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at The University of Olivet

Federal borrowing leaves completers with a median federal student loan debt that is above the peer benchmark. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, the median is $27,000.

Federal loans are used by 96.2% of federal aid recipients. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $25,000, placing the university's median $2,000 above it.

Parent borrowers are a separate population, with median Parent PLUS borrowing of $23,700. The borrower share and peer comparison show that federal borrowing is widespread and the typical debt level exceeds that of comparable institutions.

The investment picture at The University of Olivet is mixed: earnings sit below the peer median, and debt runs above it. Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 43rd percentile.

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $52,261, in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That is $3,654 below the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $43,029 in a downside case to $66,810 in an upside case, with a typical scenario of $52,261. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,000 above the $25,000 peer median.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.

Parent PLUS borrowing, which applies to a separate parent-borrower population, has a median of $23,700. The median federal 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
$23,700

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$307/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$301/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 / The University of Olivet briefing

The University of Olivet career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

At The University of Olivet, return measures show earnings below model expectations and comparable colleges. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduates’ earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, is in the 43rd percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $237. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,899.

Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn median $52,261 four years after completion, in the 24th percentile. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median—the middle value—of $55,915; the university is below it by $3,654.

Graduate earnings offer a restrained picture at The University of Olivet, where federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median $52,261 four years after completion. That result falls in the 24th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions and is based on 268 completers.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix put the downside case at $43,029 and the upside case at $66,810; the typical scenario matches the reported median. These are scenarios rather than observed graduate groups.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, provides a second reference point. Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 24.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The low earnings percentile and model comparison point in the same direction.

For The University of Olivet, the return measures point below both peer and modeled reference points. Median earnings are $52,261 four years after completion, in the 24th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, leaving the university $3,654 below it. Graduates earn about $3,136 less 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 43rd percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) subtracts $237.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $2,899. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $137.

Downside and upside earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix are $43,029 and $66,810. Azimuth places the return pillar in the 25th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The peer comparison and modeled gap point in the same direction. Business Administration and Management has the highest listed median earnings, with 22 degrees awarded and $63,380 four years after completion, equal to 0.93x of the national median for its field.

Insurance recorded 18 degrees awarded and median earnings of $62,740, or 0.71x of its field’s national median. Criminal Justice had 33 degrees awarded and median earnings of $56,379, at 1.02x of the national median for its field.

These programs show different earnings levels relative to their field benchmarks.

The modeled earnings range is broad enough that the lower and upper scenarios merit separate attention. The downside earnings scenario is $43,029, and the upside scenario is $66,810.

Both are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates. Published field medians also vary: Business Administration and Management reaches $63,380 four years after completion, Insurance reaches $62,740, and Criminal Justice reaches $56,379. Those field-level results occupy different parts of the modeled range.

The value question at The University of Olivet turns on whether the earnings picture supports the debt graduates carry. Four years after completion, the median earnings of $52,261 sit below the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students. The published cost of attendance is $47,069.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $21,393, which is below the peer median of $22,347 by $954. Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, though this is an average rather than a personal quote.

Borrowers who complete leave with a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, above the peer median of $25,000 by $2,000. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $23,700 in Parent PLUS loans.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
-$237
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$2,899
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$3,136

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 / The University of Olivet briefing

The University of Olivet acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At an admission rate of 83.2%, The University of Olivet admits a large share of applicants in its reported pool. This figure summarizes admissions decisions for that year’s pool rather than predicting an individual decision.

The rate stands above the median of 75.7% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Admissions
Admission rate
83.3%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / The University of Olivet briefing

What are the largest majors at The University of Olivet?[12]

The programs show a clear split between higher and more moderate earnings four years after completion. Business Administration and Management had median earnings of $63,380 four years after completion, across 22 degrees awarded.

Insurance followed at $62,740 from 18 degrees awarded, while Criminal Justice recorded $56,379 across 33 degrees awarded. Kinesiology and Physical Education came in at $43,475 four years after completion and 33 degrees awarded.

The higher figures in the first group and the more moderate kinesiology figure show that earnings vary across the larger fields.

Program earnings differ sharply across the university’s listed fields, making field choice especially consequential here.

The University of Olivet's degree mix is concentrated in a few professional fields. Business accounts for 28.6% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Security & Protective Services and Parks, Recreation & Fitness tied at 19.3% each.

The largest programs with published earnings are Criminal Justice and Kinesiology and Physical Education, each at 33 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management at 22. The university has 5 programs with published four-year earnings data.

The highest-earning program is Business Administration and Management, where graduates earn a median of $63,380 four years after completion. Insurance, a smaller program at 18 degrees awarded, follows at $62,740.

Criminal Justice, the largest program, reports median earnings of $56,379. Kinesiology and Physical Education, tied for the largest program by size, reports $43,475.

Biology, the smallest of the five at 17 degrees awarded, reports $42,353. The pattern is one of modest earnings across the board, with no program exceeding the national median for its field by a wide margin.

The highest-earning programs are in business-related fields, while the largest programs in protective services and fitness show lower medians. 9.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 33 degrees awarded
$43,475
Criminal Justice and Corrections 33 degrees awarded
$56,379
Business Administration, Management and Operations 22 degrees awarded
$63,380
Insurance 18 degrees awarded
$62,740
Biology, General 17 degrees awarded
$42,353
Journalism 13 degrees awarded
Too few graduates to report

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 / The University of Olivet briefing

How does The University of Olivet serve students from different backgrounds?

Although access is the university’s strongest pillar, the mobility record is constrained by completion and modeled earnings. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 35.3%, while Pell recipients complete within six years at 42.7%, above the overall rate by 7.4 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $3,136 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 10th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Completion for Pell recipients is higher than the overall rate, but the broader mobility picture remains limited.

An admission rate of 83.2% shapes entry to The University of Olivet, whose undergraduate enrollment is 892 undergraduates. Pell Grants reach 49.5% of that population, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 25.1%.

Azimuth assigns the access pillar a 53rd percentile position among nonprofit four-year institutions. The admission result, Pell participation, and transfer estimate describe access through several routes into this undergraduate population.

06 / The University of Olivet briefing

What colleges are similar to The University of Olivet?[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 The University of Olivet.

Admissions peerIndiana University-South Bend83.8% admitted
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetIndiana University-South Bend
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$55,103+$2,842 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$8,653-$12,740 vs The University of Olivet · lower cost
Admission rate83.3%83.8%
Explore Indiana University-South Bend →
Higher-admission alternativeBethel University97.7% admitted
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetBethel University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$53,289+$1,028 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$18,610-$2,783 vs The University of Olivet · lower cost
Admission rate83.3%97.7%
Explore Bethel University →
Nearby alternativeCornerstone UniversityNearby option · MI
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetCornerstone University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$53,010+$749 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$20,301-$1,092 vs The University of Olivet · lower cost
Admission rate83.3%77.8%
Explore Cornerstone University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMichigan State University$74,093 earnings
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetMichigan State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$74,093+$21,832 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$19,680-$1,713 vs The University of Olivet · lower cost
Admission rate83.3%84.8%
Explore Michigan State University →
Lower-cost alternativePurdue University Fort Wayne$13,171 average net price
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetPurdue University Fort Wayne
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$56,455+$4,194 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$13,171-$8,222 vs The University of Olivet · lower cost
Admission rate83.3%83.9%
Explore Purdue University Fort Wayne →
Similar profileHastings CollegeMatched across several measures
Comparison with The University of Olivet
MeasureThe University of OlivetHastings College
Peer earnings · 4 years$52,261$52,539+$278 vs The University of Olivet
Average annual net price$21,393$24,452+$3,059 vs The University of Olivet · higher cost
Admission rate83.3%71.7%

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 is 150% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, for the year the API serves. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. The parent table is the 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS as a share of household income above 200% of the guideline for a household of three: under 6% Safe, 6–10% Caution, over 10% High pressure. 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