University of Chicago
Private Research University in Chicago, IL. Six-year graduation rate 96%. Median 10-year earnings $91,885.
Students who entered University of Chicago reach a median of $91,885 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. 96% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $15,000.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.16 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 96% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 4% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
University of Chicago admits just 4% of applicants, placing it among the most selective undergraduate institutions in the country. The applicant pool is large — 43,612 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. 88% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. The score bands below rest on the 49% 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 | 740–780 | 850 (49%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–35 | 460 (27%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Chicago →Academics
A 96% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. First-year retention of 99% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 5:1 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. The undergraduate population is 7,643 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,540 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $28,060 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $-1,264 while those at $110k+ pay $48,524. Grant aid reaches 50% of students at an average of $53,592. 5% borrow federally — a low rate, though it covers federal loans only.
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 · 1,613 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 | $-1,264 |
| $30–48k | $914 |
| $48–75k | $226 |
| $75–110k | $12,602 |
| $110k+ | $48,524 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 359 of these 7,540 students, totalling $2,206,774 — an average of $6,147 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)