Illinois State University
Public Research University in Normal, IL. Six-year graduation rate 65%. Median 10-year earnings $62,117.
Students who entered Illinois State University reach a median of $62,117 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate is 65%, meaning about one in three students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $20,482, 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.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.33 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
With an acceptance rate of 88%, Illinois State University takes nearly everyone who applies. 21,573 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 23% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. The score bands below rest on the 44% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 500–620 | 1,872 (44%) |
| SAT Math | 490–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 21–27 | 323 (8%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Illinois State University →Academics
65% graduate within six years — average, but that average still hides a large group who do not. 81% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 50% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 18,414 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $21,369 annually once grants are applied. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $11,568 while those at $110k+ pay $28,224. 83% of students receive grant aid, averaging $12,061 — common but not automatic. About 43% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 4,133 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 | $11,568 |
| $30–48k | $12,301 |
| $48–75k | $16,348 |
| $75–110k | $23,865 |
| $110k+ | $28,224 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 7,946 of these 18,414 students, totalling $48,197,695 — an average of $6,066 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (McLean 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)