Private nonprofit · University
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois · Large city
- 4.5%
- Admit rate
- $14,860
- Avg net price
- 96%
- Graduation rate
- $91,885
- Median earnings
University of Chicago is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 7,569 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against University of Chicago's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 4.5%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 1510–1580
- Avg GPA
- 4.97
Enter a test score to see where you land against University of Chicago's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and University of Chicago's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
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
- 6 miles to Chicago, IL
- To Great Lakes shore
- 1 mile
- Nearest airport
- 8 miles to Chicago Midway (MDW) · major hub
How University of Chicago compares
More selective than 99% · #1 most selective of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 99%
Higher than 98% · #1 of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 97%
Higher than 96% · #2 of 66 in Illinois
Cheaper than 74% · #17 cheapest of 57 in Illinois
Lower than 90%
Lower than 96%
Larger than 85%
Percentiles compare University of Chicago with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Illinois.
University of Chicago campus
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate7,56941%
- Graduate10,96859%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women3,92952%
- Men3,64048%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White30%
- Black6.9%
- Hispanic17%
- Asian19%
- Other or multiracial27%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 7,569
- Graduate enrollment
- 10,968
- Student–faculty ratio
- 5 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 15%
- First-generation students
- 20%
- Students over 25
- 1%
- Median family income
- $47,140
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $178,254
- Endowment
- $9,124,340,657
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 4.5%
- Test scores
- Considered but not required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 1510–1580
- SAT average
- 1554
- SAT reading
- 740–780
- SAT math
- 770–800
- ACT composite
- 34–35
- Average GPA
- 4.97weighted
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $70,662
- Room & board
- $20,109
- Books & supplies
- $1,800
- Total cost of attendance
- $90,360
- Average net price
- $14,860
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)
- 96%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 87%
- First-year retention
- 99%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $80,870
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $91,885
- Median debt at graduation
- $15,000
- Students with federal loans
- 5%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 83%
About 9% 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
- 4,568
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 60%
- Application fee
- $75
- Athletics
- NCAA Division III with football
- Football conference
- Midwest Conference
- Varsity athletes
- 778 (446 men · 332 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
- C
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 2.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 28
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 86
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 8 campuses (18,566 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.
$226/year × about 4.1 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.
University of Chicago discounts heavily: 45% of freshmen are awarded a grant straight from the school, averaging $55,101. 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 1,729 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)
- $91,885
- Typical debt at graduation
- $15,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 16%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 81%
Typical debt would take roughly 1.6 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 $21,402 (26%) 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 (4.7 mi from campus).
What University of Chicago 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 University of Chicago
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of Chicago side by side →
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee · Large city · 2 mi to Nashville
- Students
- 7,208
- Admission
- 6%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1549
- GPA
- 3.9
- Earnings
- $92k
Rice University
Houston, Texas · Large city · 4 mi to Houston
- Students
- 4,776
- Admission
- 8%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1553
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $90k
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland · Large city · 3 mi to Baltimore
- Students
- 5,693
- Admission
- 6%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1553
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $88k
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts · Midsize city · 3 mi to Boston
- Students
- 7,601
- Admission
- 4%
- Net price
- $19k
- SAT
- 1553
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $102k
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, New York · Large city · 7 mi to New York
- Students
- 8,973
- Admission
- 4%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1553
- GPA
- 4.0
- Earnings
- $102k
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, Missouri · Large suburb · 6 mi to St. Louis
- Students
- 7,857
- Admission
- 12%
- Net price
- $22k
- SAT
- 1530
- GPA
- 4.2
- Earnings
- $86k
Colleges near University of Chicago
Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Bexley Hall Seabury Western Theological Seminary Federation Inc.
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Chicago Theological Seminary
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Catholic Theological Union at Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
McCormick Theological Seminary
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College
Chicago, IL · Public · Certificate · 1,777 students
Larry's Barber College
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 29 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.














