Private nonprofit · College

Blackburn College

Carlinville, Illinois · Distant town

63.2%
Admit rate
$18,460
Avg net price
57%
Graduation rate
$46,802
Median earnings

Blackburn College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Carlinville, Illinois (distant town setting), enrolling 471 undergraduates. It has a Presbyterian Church (USA) religious affiliation.

Private nonprofitSmall · 471 undergradsDistant townAccessible · 63% admitNCAA Division III without footballCold winters

About Carlinville, Illinois

Carlinville is a city in and the county seat of Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. Carlinville is named for Thomas Carlin, seventh governor of Illinois, who as a member of the state legislature was instrumental in creating Macoupin County. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
To Great Lakes shore
208 miles
Nearest airport
40 miles to Abraham Lincoln Capital (SPI)

How Blackburn College compares

Selectivity63.2%

More selective than 73% · #16 most selective of 58 in Illinois

Graduation rate57%

Higher than 56% · #31 of 58 in Illinois

First-year retention67%

Higher than 24%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$46,802

Higher than 29% · #58 of 66 in Illinois

Average net price$18,460

Cheaper than 57% · #26 cheapest of 57 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$24,242

Lower than 44%

Student–faculty ratio11 : 1

Lower than 68%

Undergraduate enrollment471

Larger than 21%

Percentiles compare Blackburn College with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

471undergrads
  • Women26456%
  • Men20744%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White75%
  • Black14%
  • Hispanic9.6%
  • Other or multiracial1.7%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
471
Student–faculty ratio
11 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
50%
First-generation students
44%
Students over 25
19%
Median family income
$29,508
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$76,626
Endowment
$34,703,862

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Where students come from

Home state of the 86 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois74%
  • Other U.S. states25%
  • International1.2%

Most first-years stay in state — Blackburn College draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

1% came from outside the U.S. Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.

Admissions

Admission rate
63.2%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$28,149
Room & board
$9,915
Books & supplies
$1,000
Total cost of attendance
$37,916
Average net price
$18,460

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
57%
Graduated on time (4 years)
50%
First-year retention
67%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$36,665
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$46,802
Median debt at graduation
$24,242
Students with federal loans
61%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
53%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
50%
Low-income (Pell)
43%
First-generation
43%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
449
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
95%
Housing charge (year)
$5,330
Meal plan (year)
$3,790
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NCAA Division III without football
Varsity athletes
226 (146 men · 80 women)

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Varsity sports (8)

Soccer49
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)46
Baseball40
Basketball32
Softball20
Golf16
Wrestling12
Volleyball11

Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.3 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
1

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (513 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

0.7reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
0.3
Burglary
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$16,838
$30–48k
$14,781
$48–75k
$12,329
$75–110k
$23,013
$110k+
$23,305

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$51,629

$12,329/year × about 4.2 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

93%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$10,954
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 93% — get grant money from Blackburn College itself, averaging $10,954, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 106 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$46,802
Typical debt at graduation
$24,242
Debt vs. one year's pay
52%
Out-earn a HS grad
51%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Solid value

A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$45,346
Men
$48,947

Men out-earn women by $3,601 (8%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
86°F
Winter low
19°F
Annual rain
40″
Annual snow
16.5″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°60°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.7JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Carlinville, IL US station (0 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Blackburn College

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Blackburn College side by side →

Colleges near Blackburn College

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.