University of
Illinois Chicago
Public Research University in Chicago, IL. Six-year graduation rate 62%. Median 10-year earnings $68,740.
Students who entered University of Illinois Chicago reach a median of $68,740 ten years later, which puts this school in the upper band of undergraduate earnings outcomes. The six-year graduation rate is 62%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $16,704, 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 0.24 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
77% of applicants get in, so the odds favor most reasonably prepared students. 27,085 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. Yield sits at 21% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 30% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 570–670 | 1,342 (30%) |
| SAT Math | 560–680 | |
| ACT Composite | 25–31 | 201 (5%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at University of Illinois Chicago →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 62%, meaning about two in five students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention of 80% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Retention drops to 48% for part-time students, a gap worth weighing if full-time study is not realistic. The student-faculty ratio is 17:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 21,814 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price is $10,852 a year after grant aid — low for a four-year institution, though your own figure depends on aid eligibility. The income table below is the number that matters — $7,529 at $0–30k versus $25,047 at $110k+. About 66% get grants averaging $15,594, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Only 22% take federal loans. Private borrowing is not captured in this figure.
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 · 4,565 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 | $7,529 |
| $30–48k | $8,119 |
| $48–75k | $10,921 |
| $75–110k | $16,185 |
| $110k+ | $25,047 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 4,833 of these 21,814 students, totalling $30,565,176 — an average of $6,324 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)