Illinois State University

Overview

Rankings

• #2 Best Education Colleges in Illinois
• #3 Best Online Colleges in Illinois
• #3 Best Business Colleges in Illinois
• #3 Best Communications Colleges in Illinois
• #3 Best MBA Programs in Illinois
• #4 Best Criminal Justice Colleges in Illinois
• #5 Best Colleges in Illinois
• #6 Best Bachelor's Programs in Illinois

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Illinois State University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

Based in Normal, Illinois, Illinois State University admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 88%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,113. The graduation rate is roughly 65%.

Acceptance Rate

88%

Retention Rate

81%

SAT Average

1113

ACT Midpoint

24

SAT Range

990–1210

ACT Range

21–27

Full-Time Faculty

74%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$9,453

Student–Faculty Ratio

19:1

Diversity Index

0.55

First-Gen Students

30%

Applicants

19,596

Admitted

16,899

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2024-25

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Illinois State University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 23% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

23%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

44%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

8%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Illinois State University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Illinois State University is $28,210, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $19,398. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $11,568 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $20,482 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$16,144

Out-of-State

$28,210

Avg Net Price

$19,398

Median Debt

$20,482

Pell Grant Rate

32%

Federal Loan Rate

43%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Illinois State University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Illinois State University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Illinois State University earn a median of $62,117, roughly in line with the national average for college graduates.

6 Years After Entry

$50,599

8 Years

$57,276

10 Years

$62,117

Debt-to-Earnings

0.33x

Earning > $25K

78%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Illinois State University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Illinois State University is a measurable contributor to upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.08%, in line with strong performers nationally. Access is narrower: only about 3.2% of students come from the bottom income quintile, typical of more selective, higher-income institutions. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 33.6% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $107,600, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.08%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

33.6%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

3.2%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$146,191

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Illinois State University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Illinois State University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.72, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (0.00), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 7% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.72

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

0.00

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

7.4%

Support Ratio

0.99

Community support

Innovation & Knowledge Creation

Patents, inventors, and research influence · Opportunity Insights & Times Higher Education

Illinois State University produces inventors at a measurable rate, with 78 patents tied to its graduates.

Inventor Rate

0.22%

Top 74% nationally

Patents Produced

78

Linked to graduates

Patent Citations

175

Downstream influence

Inventors From Low-Income

0.19%

Bottom-20% families

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-2,547,877

Top Programs

The fields Illinois State University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 21% $79,729 early-career
• Education 18% $51,786 early-career
• Health Professions 9% $77,463 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 5% $48,109 early-career
• Psychology 5% $35,271 early-career
• Computer Science & IT 5% $77,221 early-career
• Communications 5% $46,136 early-career
• Social Sciences 5% $62,839 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.