Public · University
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois · Midsize suburb
- 88.1%
- Admit rate
- $19,398
- Avg net price
- 65%
- Graduation rate
- $62,117
- Median earnings
Illinois State University is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Normal, Illinois (midsize suburb setting), enrolling 19,057 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against Illinois State University's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 88.1%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 990–1210
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.19
Enter a test score to see where you land against Illinois State University's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Illinois State University's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Normal, Illinois
Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. From its founding, it was generally recognized that Jesse W. Fell was the force behind the creation of the town. The Children's Discovery Museum in uptown Normal provides hands-on exhibits, classes and programs for children. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Midsize suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 34 miles to Peoria, IL
- To Great Lakes shore
- 113 miles
- Nearest airport
- 4 miles to Central Illinois Regional Airport at Bloomington-Normal (BMI)
How Illinois State University compares
More selective than 28% · #44 most selective of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 34%
Higher than 68% · #20 of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 65%
Higher than 72% · #23 of 66 in Illinois
Cheaper than 53% · #30 cheapest of 57 in Illinois
Lower than 73%
Lower than 14%
Larger than 94%
Percentiles compare Illinois State University with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Illinois.
Illinois State University campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate19,05789%
- Graduate2,43911%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women10,71856%
- Men8,33944%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White64%
- Black14%
- Hispanic14%
- Asian2.6%
- Other or multiracial5.8%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 19,057
- Graduate enrollment
- 2,439
- Student–faculty ratio
- 19 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 32%
- First-generation students
- 30%
- Students over 25
- 4%
- Median family income
- $67,100
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $85,077
- Endowment
- $224,309,967
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 4,147 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Illinois96%
- Other U.S. states3.1%
- International0.8%
Most first-years stay in state — Illinois State University 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
- 88.1%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 990–1210
- SAT average
- 1113
- SAT reading
- 500–620
- SAT math
- 490–590
- ACT composite
- 21–27
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.19
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $16,144
- Out-of-state tuition
- $28,210
- Room & board
- $11,754
- Books & supplies
- $830
- Total cost of attendance
- $34,309
- Average net price
- $19,398
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)
- 65%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 49%
- First-year retention
- 81%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $50,599
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $62,117
- Median debt at graduation
- $20,482
- Students with federal loans
- 43%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 71%
About 16% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
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
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 6,578
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 35%
- Housing charge (year)
- $5,970
- Meal plan (year)
- $5,056
- Application fee
- $55
- Athletics
- NCAA Division I-FCS
- Football conference
- Missouri Valley Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 603 (330 men · 273 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 (11)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 56
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 7
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (21,546 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$16,348/year × about 4.4 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.
Modest institutional aid: 94% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $6,475. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
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 3,974 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)
- $62,117
- Typical debt at graduation
- $20,482
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 33%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 77%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.3 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 $12,274 (21%) 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
- 16°F
- Annual rain
- 39.4″
- Annual snow
- 20.1″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Normal 4NE, IL US station (3.5 mi from campus).
What Illinois State University 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 State University
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Illinois State University side by side →
Towson University
Towson, Maryland · Small city · 7 mi to Baltimore
- Students
- 16,136
- Admission
- 82%
- Net price
- $17k
- SAT
- 1095
- GPA
- 3.8
- Earnings
- $64k
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, Hawaii · Large city · 3 mi to Honolulu
- Students
- 15,029
- Admission
- 87%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1102
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $58k
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia · Midsize city · 1 mi to Richmond
- Students
- 20,753
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $23k
- SAT
- 1137
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $58k
Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey · Large suburb · 14 mi to New York
- Students
- 18,376
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1070
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $61k
West Virginia University
Morgantown, West Virginia · Small city · 56 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 17,385
- Admission
- 89%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1122
- GPA
- 3.2
- Earnings
- $56k
Minnesota State University-Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota · Small city · 68 mi to Minneapolis
- Students
- 11,703
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1150
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $57k
Colleges near Illinois State University
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,582 students
Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Normal
Normal, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 171 students
Heartland Community College
Normal, IL · Public · Certificate · 2,997 students
Eureka College
Eureka, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 522 students
Illinois Central College
East Peoria, IL · Public · Certificate · 5,052 students
Oehrlein School of Cosmetology
East Peoria, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 65 students
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing
Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 273 students
Bradley University
Peoria, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,574 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.













