Northeastern Illinois University
Public College in Chicago, IL. Six-year graduation rate 22%. Median 10-year earnings $52,234.
Ten years after entry, the median Northeastern Illinois University student earns $52,234 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. Completion is the weak point: 22% graduate within six years. Median debt at graduation is $14,600, a light load against those earnings. It also moves people — 3.2% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.28 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Graduation rate 22% — below national average
Admissions
75% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. The applicant pool runs to 8,955, typical for a school of this reach. Yield is low at 9%, so most admitted students do not end up enrolling.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Northeastern Illinois University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 22% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention is weak: only 52% of full-time first-years return, so roughly one in two leave after one year. That gap between coming back and finishing is where this school loses people — after the first year, not during it. The 9:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 3,865 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $14,140 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $13,709 while those at $110k+ pay $25,001. 75% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,679 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 20% of students.
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 · 514 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 | $13,709 |
| $30–48k | $12,824 |
| $48–75k | $15,077 |
| $75–110k | $20,464 |
| $110k+ | $25,001 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 774 of these 3,865 students, totalling $5,602,839 — an average of $7,239 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)