Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois · Private · 1,813 undergraduates · lakeforest.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test optional
Sending scores is your choice
Admit rate
54%
of 5,411 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1200 to 1370
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$82,680Est.Estimate
before aid
Your chances and merit aid at Lake Forest College
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
54% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$82,680
a year in 2027-28, from a $82,680 sticker price
What to do with your 1310
Send your score
About 83% of freshmen here didn't send a score. We estimate their typical SAT at about 1140, and yours is above it.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test optional
You choose whether to send an SAT or ACT score. If you send one, it's considered.
- Superscores: it combines your best section scores from different test dates.
Source: Apply | Lake Forest College · Checked October 17, 2026
Application deadlines
- Nov1Early Action · November 1, 2026Apply early and hear early. Not binding.
- Nov1Early Decision · November 1, 2026Binding: if admitted, you commit to enroll.
- Jan15Early Decision II · January 15, 2027A second binding round, after Early Decision.
- Jan15Other deadline · January 15, 2027
- Feb15Regular Decision · February 15, 2027The standard deadline.
Source: Apply | Lake Forest College
Who gets in
54%
of applicants were admitted: 2,902 of 5,411 for fall 2025.
Early Action
Not binding. Apply by 11/1, hear by 12/15.
Early Decision
Binding. 38% of early applicants were admitted.
Wait list
48 students were offered a spot; 27 were later admitted.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 11% of them sent SAT scores and 8% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1200 to 1370
Reading and Writing 600 to 688
Math 590 to 690
ACT composite 27 to 30
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 160017%
- 1200 to 139960%
- 1000 to 119924%
- 800 to 9990%
- 600 to 7990%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.74
- 4.029%
- 3.75 to 3.9923%
- 3.50 to 3.7418%
- 3.25 to 3.4914%
- 3.00 to 3.2413%
- 2.50 to 2.993.4%
- Below 2.500%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$82,680
a year
- Tuition$62,610
- Fees$990
- Food and housing$14,090
- Books and supplies$1,390
- Transportation and other$3,600
Lake Forest College published $79,500 for 2026-27. Its 2027-28 prices aren't out yet.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24, by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$16,922
- $30,001 to $48,000$17,334
- $48,001 to $75,000$17,492
- $75,001 to $110,000$21,622
- Over $110,000$33,218
Financial aid
92%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$56,750
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
17%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $37,100 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Required. It's a second, more detailed aid form some colleges use for their own grants.
- Aid priority date: 3/1
- Send your aid forms by this date to be first in line for the college's grant money.
- Aid deadline: 5/1
- The last day to send aid forms.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
37 of 37
Earn credit with a score of 3
11 exams
A 3-credit course is worth
about $6,260Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 4 | 1.0 | Art credit |
| 3-D Art and Design | 4 | 1.0 | Art credit |
| African American Studies | 4 | 1.0 | AFAM 110 |
| Art History | 4 | 1.0 | Art History credit |
| Biology | 4 | 1.0 | Biology credit |
| Biology | 5 | 1.0 | BIOL 120 |
| Calculus AB | 4 | 1.0 | MATH 110 |
| Calculus BC | 3 | 1.0 | MATH 110 |
| Calculus BC | 4 | 1.0 | MATH 110, MATH 111 |
| Calculus BC | 5 | 2.0 | MATH 110, MATH 111 |
| Chemistry | 3 | 1.0 | CHEM 114 |
| Chemistry | 4 | 1.0 | CHEM 115 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | CHIN 112 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | CHIN 210 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | CHIN 212 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 4 | 1.0 | POLS 110 |
| Computer Science A | 4 | 1.0 | CSCI 212 |
| Computer Science Principles | 4 | 1.0 | CSCI 112 |
| Drawing | 4 | 1.0 | Art credit |
| English Language and Composition | 4 | 1.0 | English credit |
| English Literature and Composition | 4 | 1.0 | ENGL 110 |
| Environmental Science | 4 | 1.0 | ES 120 |
| European History | 4 | 1.0 | HIST 208 OR HIST 209 |
| French Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | FREN 112 |
| French Language and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | FREN 210 |
| French Language and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | FREN 212 |
| German Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | GERM 112 |
| German Language and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | GERM 210 |
| German Language and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | GERM 212 |
| Human Geography | 4 | 1.0 | Geography credit |
| Italian Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | Foreign Language credit |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | JAPN 112 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | JAPN 210 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | JAPN 212 |
| Latin | 3 | 1.0 | Foreign Language credit |
| Macroeconomics | 4 | 1.0 | ECON 110 |
| Microeconomics | 4 | 1.0 | ECON 110 |
| Music Theory | 3 | 1.0 | MUSC 150 |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 1.0 | PHYS110L |
| Physics 2 | 4 | 1.0 | PHYS111L |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | 1.0 | PHYS 121L |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 1.0 | PHYS120L |
| Psychology | 4 | 1.0 | Psychology credit |
| Psychology | 5 | 1.0 | Psychology credit OR PSYC 110 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | SPAN 111 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | SPAN 210 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | SPAN 212 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 3 | 1.0 | SPAN 111 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 4 | 1.0 | SPAN 210 |
| Spanish Literature and Culture | 5 | 1.0 | SPAN 212 |
| Statistics | 4 | 1.0 | MATH 150 |
| United States Government and Politics | 4 | 1.0 | POLS 120 |
| United States History | 4 | 1.0 | HIST 200 OR HIST 201 |
| World History: Modern | 4 | 1.0 | History 200 level elective |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
73%
Come back for a second year
90%
Typical earnings
$70,470
a year, 10 years after starting here
- Lake Forest College$78,239
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 11 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with Lake Forest College. The Lake Forest College logo is a trademark of the college.