Northern Illinois University

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

Northern Illinois University operates as a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois (suburb: small), with a total reported enrollment of 11,301 students of which 12,379 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. Northern Illinois 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 69.8%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $13,391, with published in-state tuition of $13,248 and a Pell grant recipient share of 47.3%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $22,162, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 49.2%, and the first-year retention rate is 69.6%. Graduates earn a median of $57,808 ten years after enrolling, compared with $46,113 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 914700.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 71.0% 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.