Private nonprofit · University

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois · Large city

95.0%
Admit rate
$12,641
Avg net price
30%
Graduation rate
$45,799
Median earnings

National Louis University is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 4,406 undergraduates. It is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI).

Private nonprofitMidsize · 4,406 undergradsLarge cityAccessible · 95% admitCold wintersSnowy

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
Graduate
Nearest big city
Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore
1 mile
Nearest airport
9 miles to Chicago Midway (MDW) · major hub

How National Louis University compares

Selectivity95.0%

More selective than 13% · #51 most selective of 58 in Illinois

Graduation rate30%

Higher than 11% · #52 of 58 in Illinois

First-year retention50%

Higher than 7%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$45,799

Higher than 26% · #59 of 66 in Illinois

Average net price$12,641

Cheaper than 82% · #9 cheapest of 57 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$19,750

Lower than 76%

Student–faculty ratio17 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment4,406

Larger than 76%

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

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

8,850students
  • Undergraduate4,40650%
  • Graduate4,44450%

Undergraduates by gender

4,406undergrads
  • Women3,31175%
  • Men1,09525%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White14%
  • Black22%
  • Hispanic50%
  • Asian2.1%
  • Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
4,406
Graduate enrollment
4,444
Student–faculty ratio
17 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
55%
First-generation students
50%
Students over 25
41%
Median family income
$24,270
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$62,019
Endowment
$73,182,745

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 790 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois73%
  • Other U.S. states19%
  • International7.8%

Most first-years stay in state — National Louis University draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

8% 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
95.0%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$12,705
Room & board
Books & supplies
$0
Total cost of attendance
$24,154
Average net price
$12,641

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)
30%
Graduated on time (4 years)
24%
First-year retention
50%
Transferred to another college
17%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$43,562
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$45,799
Median debt at graduation
$19,750
Students with federal loans
22%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
35%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
24%
Low-income (Pell)
34%
First-generation
39%

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%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
1
Property offenses (2022–2024)
0

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 4 campuses (8,915 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.

0.3reported offenses a year
0.3 violent a year0 property a year

By offense type, per year

Robbery
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
$12,462
$30–48k
$11,567
$48–75k
$12,996
$75–110k
$15,447
$110k+
$17,956

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
$55,949

$12,996/year × about 4.3 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.

15%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$4,117
average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 15% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,117. 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 684 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)
$45,799
Typical debt at graduation
$19,750
Debt vs. one year's pay
43%
Out-earn a HS grad
68%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.3 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
$45,033
Men
$48,462

Men out-earn women by $3,429 (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
81°F
Winter low
20°F
Annual rain
34.4″
Annual snow
38.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.04.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Northerly IS, IL US station (1.9 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 National Louis University

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare National Louis University side by side →

Colleges near National Louis University

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.