Public · Community college
Chester County Intermediate Unit
Downingtown, Pennsylvania · Large suburb
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $14,441
- Avg net price
- 86%
- Grad / completion
- $60,347
- Median earnings
Chester County Intermediate Unit is a public certificate-granting institution in Downingtown, Pennsylvania (large suburb setting), enrolling 82 undergraduates.
About Downingtown, Pennsylvania
Downingtown is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States, 33 miles (53 km) west of Philadelphia. The borough was originally named Milltown due to its number of mills along the East Branch Brandywine Creek, the first of which was founded by Daniel Butter. The 1958 movie The Blob was filmed in and around Downingtown. The diner featured in the movie, then called the "Downingtown Diner", was sold and transported to another state and has been replaced with a similar 1950s style diner. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 27 miles to Philadelphia, PA
- To the ocean
- 19 miles
- Nearest airport
- 23 miles to Wilmington (ILG)
How Chester County Intermediate Unit compares
More selective than 78% · #11 most selective of 40 in Pennsylvania
Higher than 85% · #28 of 151 in Pennsylvania
Higher than 95%
Higher than 96% · #16 of 137 in Pennsylvania
Cheaper than 53% · #41 cheapest of 152 in Pennsylvania
Lower than 8%
Lower than 82%
Larger than 23%
Percentiles compare Chester County Intermediate Unit with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Pennsylvania.
Student body
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White26%
- Black56%
- Hispanic12%
- Asian1.2%
- Other or multiracial4.9%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 82
- Student–faculty ratio
- 10 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 60%
- First-generation students
- 63%
- Students over 25
- 65%
- Median family income
- $29,428
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- —
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- —
- Average net price
- $14,441
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 58.3%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Outcomes
- Graduated
- 86%
- First-year retention
- 100%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $51,810
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $60,347
- Median debt at graduation
- $18,075
- Students with federal loans
- 83%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 42%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $75
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%.
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.
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.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Chester County Intermediate Unit funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.
Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $60,347
- Typical debt at graduation
- $18,075
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 30%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 72%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.0 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
Graduates here tend to earn well relative to what they borrow — typical debt pays back fast, and most out-earn a high-school graduate.
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.
Men out-earn women by $5,049 (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
- 20°F
- Annual rain
- 50.9″
- Annual snow
- 30.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, W Chester 2 NW, PA US station (3.4 mi from campus).
What Chester County Intermediate Unit graduates study — and earn
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 Chester County Intermediate Unit
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Chester County Intermediate Unit side by side →
Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit LPN Career
Milton, Pennsylvania · Fringe rural · 48 mi to Harrisburg
- Students
- 98
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $50k
Wilkes-Barre Area Career and Technical Center Practical Nursing
Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 13 mi to Scranton
- Students
- 85
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $49k
University of Pittsburgh-Titusville
Titusville, Pennsylvania · Distant town · 41 mi to Erie
- Students
- 33
- Tuition
- $12k
- Transfer
- 20%
- Earnings
- $66k
Eastern Center for Arts and Technology
Willow Grove, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 15 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 180
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $56k
Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center
Johnstown, Pennsylvania · Fringe rural · 62 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 105
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $49k
York County School of Technology-Adult & Continuing Education
York, Pennsylvania · Midsize suburb · 21 mi to Lancaster
- Students
- 229
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $54k
Colleges near Chester County Intermediate Unit
Automotive Training Center-Exton
Exton, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 366 students
Universal Technical Institute of Pennsylvania Inc
Exton, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 954 students
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 14,164 students
Immaculata University
Immaculata, PA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,320 students
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Great Valley
Malvern, PA · Public · Graduate
Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
Cheyney, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 617 students
University of Valley Forge
Phoenixville, PA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 471 students
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Brandywine
Media, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 1,223 students
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.