Private nonprofit · College

Knox College

Galesburg, Illinois · Distant town

70.8%
Admit rate
$24,595
Avg net price
68%
Graduation rate
$54,820
Median earnings

Knox College is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Galesburg, Illinois (distant town setting), enrolling 1,127 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,127 undergradsDistant townAccessible · 71% admitNCAA Division III with football · Midwest ConferenceCold winters

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against Knox College's admitted students.

Admit rate
70.8%
SAT (mid 50%)
1180–1440
Avg GPA (est.)
3.69

Enter a test score to see where you land against Knox College's admitted students.

A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and Knox College's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.

About Galesburg, Illinois

Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. Galesburg was founded by George Washington Gale, a Presbyterian minister from New York state who had formulated the concept of the manual labor college and first implemented it at the Oneida Institute near Utica, New York. Galesburg is the birthplace of George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., inventor of the Ferris wheel. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Distant town
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
44 miles to Peoria, IL
To Great Lakes shore
156 miles
Nearest airport
36 miles to Quad City (MLI)

How Knox College compares

Selectivity70.8%

More selective than 62% · #22 most selective of 58 in Illinois

SAT average1326

Higher than 83%

Graduation rate68%

Higher than 74% · #14 of 58 in Illinois

First-year retention83%

Higher than 70%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$54,820

Higher than 53% · #41 of 66 in Illinois

Average net price$24,595

Cheaper than 30% · #45 cheapest of 57 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio11 : 1

Lower than 68%

Undergraduate enrollment1,127

Larger than 41%

Percentiles compare Knox 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

1,127undergrads
  • Women68261%
  • Men44539%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White43%
  • Black6.2%
  • Hispanic13%
  • Asian3.5%
  • Other or multiracial35%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,127
Student–faculty ratio
11 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
31%
First-generation students
28%
Students over 25
2%
Median family income
$60,911
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$64,989
Endowment
$174,514,569

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 249 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois44%
  • Other U.S. states36%
  • International21%

A national draw — only 43% of first-years come from Illinois; 36% arrive from other states.

21% 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
70.8%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1180–1440
SAT average
1326
SAT reading
600–680
SAT math
580–760
ACT composite
21–32
Average GPA (estimated)
3.69

Cost

In-state tuition
$57,903
Room & board
$10,728
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$68,134
Average net price
$24,595

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)
68%
Graduated on time (4 years)
49%
First-year retention
83%
Transferred to another college
16%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$37,757
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$54,820
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
67%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
73%

About 18% 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)

All students
49%
Low-income (Pell)
67%
First-generation
63%

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
1,186
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
100%+
Housing charge (year)
$5,091
Meal plan (year)
$5,316
Application fee
Free
Athletics
NCAA Division III with football
Football conference
Midwest Conference
Varsity athletes
387 (278 men · 109 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 (10)

Football90
Soccer62
Track and Field (Outdoor)53
Track and Field (Indoor)50
Baseball46
Basketball29
Softball19
Volleyball19
Cross Country14
Golf5

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
D
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
9.1 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
12
Property offenses (2022–2024)
19

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,136 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.

10reported offenses a year
4.0 violent a year6.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Burglary
4.3
Rape
2.0
Fondling
2.0
Motor vehicle theft
1.3
Arson
0.7

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
$17,134
$30–48k
$17,363
$48–75k
$23,844
$75–110k
$25,402
$110k+
$31,983

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
$105,045

$23,844/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.

100%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$37,593
average award, among those who get one

Knox College discounts heavily: 100% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $37,593. For many families the real price lands well below sticker.

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 247 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)
$54,820
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
49%
Out-earn a HS grad
53%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.9 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
$48,678
Men
$65,893

Men out-earn women by $17,215 (35%) 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
84°F
Winter low
14°F
Annual rain
39″
Annual snow
25.9″

Average temperature

HighLow
0°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.65.3JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Galesburg, IL US station (0.7 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 Knox College

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

Colleges near Knox 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.