Private Nonprofit · Elsah, Illinois

Principia College

Principia College is a private nonprofit institution in Elsah, Illinois. as a private nonprofit, published Scorecard outcomes cover federal-aid recipients at this campus — endowment and sticker price sit outside those cohort fields.

75.1%
150%-time completion
Rural: Fringe Carnegie: Bacc: A&S
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Institution data retrieved July 2026; field-of-study data retrieved March 2026.

How to read this Principia College profile

Figures above come from IPEDS institution records published through the College Scorecard (retrieved July 2026 for institution fields; March 2026 for field-of-study). Peer groups and cost cohorts follow IPEDS ownership sector, Carnegie class ("Baccalaureate Colleges: Arts & Sciences Focus"), and locale, not an editorial shortlist.

Average net price subtracts grant and scholarship aid from cost of attendance for full-time, first-time undergraduate Title IV recipients. It is a defined cohort average, not a personalized price; income-band fields add context but do not replace the school's current net-price calculator.

Earnings use Treasury-linked records for federally aided former students who were working and not enrolled in the measurement year (completers and noncompleters). IPEDS completion and retention use separate first-time, full-time cohorts, so those denominators are not the earnings cohort. Read cost, completion, and earnings as distinct historical measures, not a causal verdict or individual forecast.

College Value Score

B+
College Value Score
75/100
Principia College

A 6-metric composite of earnings, cost, and completion outcomes benchmarked against every reporting US college, not a ranking of teaching quality, campus life, or fit for any individual student. See the full methodology.

Earnings N/A
N/A
10-year median former-student earnings
Net Price N/A
N/A
Average annual cost after grants and aid
Completion Rate B+
75.1%
Completion within 150% of normal time
Debt N/A
N/A
Median federal debt at graduation
Loan Repayment N/A
N/A
Borrowers repaying loans within 3 years
Retention B
83.1%
First-year students returning for year two
Principia College vs. the national benchmark
EarningsNet PriceCompletionDebtRepaymentRetention

Each axis is the percentile score shown in the breakdown at left; the shape shows this school's overall profile at a glance.

10-yr median earnings

Not reported

Federal aid recipients only

Avg net price

Not reported

After grants and scholarships

150%-time completion

75.1%

Full-time, first-time cohort

150%-time completion vs portal median (57.1%) 75.1%

Four-year-institution cohort

College ROI Quadrant - Principia College vs peers

Principia College positioned by earnings vs cost Two-by-two quadrant chart: x-axis median earnings 10 years after enrollment, y-axis average net price after financial aid. Each dot is a college, colored by completion within 150% of normal time (garnet ≥65%, amber 45-64%, red <45%). Net price increases upward, earnings increase rightward, so: bottom-right = best value (low cost, high earnings); top-right = premium (high cost, high earnings); bottom-left = community college tier (low cost, modest earnings); top-left = cost challenge (high cost, low earnings). Currently plotting 8 colleges. Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard joined to Carnegie Classification. Principia College positioned by earnings vs … Carnegie Classification: Bacc: A&S Bacc: A&S COST CHALLENGE PREMIUM COMMUNITY BEST VALUE $25K $73K Median Earnings 10 Years After Enrollment ($) $3K $44K Avg Net Price ($) Generations College: $35K earn · $19K net · 9% grad Generations College Methodist College: $70K earn · $42K net · 62% grad Methodist College East-West University: $30K earn · $22K net · 20% grad East-West University Blackburn College: $47K earn · $18K net · 55% grad Blackburn College Lewis and Clark Community College: $38K earn · $3K net · 46% grad Lewis and Clark Co… American Trade School: $47K earn · $18K net · 68% grad American Trade Sch… University of Missouri-St Louis: $53K earn · $15K net · 57% grad Saint Louis Community College: $35K earn · $8K net · 19% grad Grad rate (4yr) ≥65% 45-64% <45%
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard + Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education

Each dot is a college plotted by 10-year median earnings (x-axis) vs average net price (y-axis), colored by completion within 150% of normal time. Bottom-right = high earnings/lower price; top-left = lower earnings/higher price.

Quick Facts

339
Undergraduate enrollment
-
Acceptance rate
-
SAT average
75.1%
150%-time completion
-
10-yr median earnings
83.1%
First-year retention

How Principia College ranks in Illinois

State rank among 189 reporting Illinois colleges with College Scorecard data, a separate lens from the national distribution above.

Metric Principia College State rank Percentile
150%-time completion 75.1% #26 of 171 85th
Undergraduate enrollment 339 #110 of 201 45th

Highest former-student earnings in Illinois

Admissions

ACT Average 25

Costs & Financial Aid

Tuition & Net Price

In-State Tuition $34,680
Out-of-State Tuition $34,680

Net Price by Family Income

0.0%
Pell Grant Rate
0.0%
Federal Loan Rate

Student Demographics

Race & ethnicity

Student body at a glance

Outcomes

83.1%
Retention Rate

Outcomes & debt snapshot

Measure Cohort / horizon Value
Completion within 150% of normal time First-time, full-time 75.1%
First-year retention First-time, full-time freshmen 83.1%

Programs & Earnings

No program-level earnings data available for this school.

Independent Scorecard matches among reporting colleges — not recommendations from the institution or a counselor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the graduation rate at Principia College?
Principia College has a 75.1% completion rate within 150% of normal time at a four-year institution (typically six years for a bachelor’s program). The first-year retention rate is 83.1%.

Sources & methodology

Private-nonprofit profiles emphasize Scorecard cost-after-aid and completion alongside IPEDS Carnegie class. Endowment, gifts, and sticker price are not Scorecard fields on this page.

Figures are the Mar–Jul 2026 federal retrievals. Nonprofit campuses vary widely in aid practice — net price here is the Title-IV-recipient cohort average, not an individual award letter. Read the full methodology for how the data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Where to go next from Principia College

Nonprofit Scorecard medians describe federal-aid recipients who were working and not enrolled — they are not sticker-price ROI and not advice.

Every figure on PlainCollege is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard data, no number is typed in by an editor. Private-nonprofit profiles compile Scorecard net-price and earnings cohorts with IPEDS structure fields — no editor-typed figures. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error on this page. Review the public data changelog. Data current as of Mar–Jul 2026 retrievals.