Private for-profit · Community college
Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus
Chicago, Illinois · Large city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $26,435
- Avg net price
- 61%
- Grad / completion
- $38,284
- Median earnings
Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 66 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was a trader, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and he established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago". Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $670.5 billion according to September 2017 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- Chicago, IL
- To Great Lakes shore
- 1 mile
- Nearest airport
- 9 miles to Chicago Midway (MDW) · major hub
How Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus compares
Higher than 50% · #56 of 122 in Illinois
Higher than 14%
Higher than 61% · #41 of 113 in Illinois
Cheaper than 15% · #115 cheapest of 123 in Illinois
Lower than 57%
Lower than 73%
Larger than 18%
Percentiles compare Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus 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 Illinois.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2335%
- Men4365%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White4.5%
- Black70%
- Hispanic14%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 66
- Student–faculty ratio
- 12 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 62%
- First-generation students
- 39%
- Students over 25
- 88%
- Median family income
- $16,801
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
- $26,435
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
- 61%
- First-year retention
- 53%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $31,958
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $38,284
- Median debt at graduation
- $9,500
- Students with federal loans
- 68%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 34%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
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
- No
- Application fee
- Free
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?
Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus 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)
- $38,284
- Typical debt at graduation
- $9,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 25%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 57%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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.
Men out-earn women by $11,227 (36%) 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
- 81°F
- Winter low
- 20°F
- Annual rain
- 34.4″
- Annual snow
- 38.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Northerly IS, IL US station (2.1 mi from campus).
What Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus 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 Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus side by side →
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Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 13 mi to Chicago
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- Transfer
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Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Libertyville
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The Aveda Institute of Beauty and Wellness Chicago
Chicago, Illinois · Large city · 4 mi to Chicago
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- Tuition
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Stellar Career College
Chicago, Illinois · Large city · < 1 mi to Chicago
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- Tuition
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- Transfer
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- Earnings
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Colleges near Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus
Adler University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 9 students
MDT College of Health Sciences
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 575 students
Taylor Business Institute
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 98 students
Meadville Theological School of Lombard College
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,805 students
City Colleges of Chicago-Harold Washington College
Chicago, IL · Public · Associate · 4,207 students
Midwestern Career College
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 887 students
National Louis University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 4,406 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.