East-West University
Private College in Chicago, IL. Six-year graduation rate 19%. Median 10-year earnings $29,963.
Ten-year median earnings of $29,963 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. Completion is the weak point: 19% graduate within six years. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $26,986, neither a bargain nor a burden.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.90 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 19% — below national average
Academics
Completion is the problem here: 19% graduate within six years. Retention is weak: only 37% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in three leave after one year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. The student-faculty ratio is 20:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 528 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $21,872 annually once grants are applied. The income table below is the number that matters — $19,168 at $0–30k versus $30,852 at $75–110k. Grant aid is widespread — 88% of students receive it, averaging $9,776. Most students borrow — 60% take federal loans to cover the gap.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 194 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $19,168 |
| $30–48k | $26,636 |
| $48–75k | $29,284 |
| $75–110k | $30,852 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 319 of these 528 students, totalling $1,569,270 — an average of $4,919 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cook County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)