Illinois State University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Illinois State University

Illinois State University operates as a public institution located in Normal, Illinois (suburb: midsize), with a total reported enrollment of 19,057 students of which 19,842 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Illinois State University is categorized as “16” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 88.1%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,113 and an ACT midpoint of 24. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,398, with published in-state tuition of $16,144 and a Pell grant recipient share of 32.1%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $20,482, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 65.4%, and the first-year retention rate is 81.4%. Graduates earn a median of $62,117 ten years after enrolling, compared with $50,599 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 771600.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 77.6% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.