Public · University

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois · Small city

#3 graduation rate in Illinois
42.4%
Admit rate
$14,355
Avg net price
85%
Graduation rate
$81,054
Median earnings

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Champaign, Illinois (small city setting), enrolling 36,258 undergraduates.

PublicLarge · 36,258 undergradsSmall citySelective · 42% admitNCAA Division I-FBS · Big Ten ConferenceCold winters

Will you get in?

See where your numbers land against University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's admitted students.

Admit rate
42.4%
SAT (mid 50%)
1310–1520
Avg GPA (est.)
3.95

Enter a test score to see where you land against University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's admitted students.

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

About Champaign, Illinois

Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. Champaign was founded in 1855, when the Illinois Central Railroad laid its rail track two miles (3 km) west of downtown Urbana. Both the city and county name were derived from Champaign County, Ohio, which took its name from the French word for "open, level country". In the 1980s, part of the downtown Champaign area (Neil St.) was closed to vehicular traffic to create a pedestrian mall, but this short-lived experiment was scrapped when business declined. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Graduate
To Great Lakes shore
115 miles
Nearest airport
5 miles to University of Illinois Willard (CMI)

How University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign compares

Selectivity42.4%

More selective than 88% · #6 most selective of 58 in Illinois

SAT average1440

Higher than 93%

Graduation rate85%

Higher than 93% · #3 of 58 in Illinois

First-year retention95%

Higher than 93%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$81,054

Higher than 92% · #7 of 66 in Illinois

Average net price$14,355

Cheaper than 75% · #16 cheapest of 57 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$19,500

Lower than 78%

Student–faculty ratio20 : 1

Lower than 10%

Undergraduate enrollment36,258

Larger than 99%

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

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus

Student body

Undergraduate vs. graduate

58,356students
  • Undergraduate36,25862%
  • Graduate22,09838%

Undergraduates by gender

36,258undergrads
  • Women17,94049%
  • Men18,31851%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White38%
  • Black5.3%
  • Hispanic14%
  • Asian23%
  • Other or multiracial20%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
36,258
Graduate enrollment
22,098
Student–faculty ratio
20 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
23%
First-generation students
25%
Students over 25
1%
Median family income
$62,485
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$130,176
Endowment
$2,606,081,833

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 8,325 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

  • From Illinois74%
  • Other U.S. states13%
  • International13%

Most first-years stay in state — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

13% 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
42.4%
Test scores
Considered but not required
SAT range (25th–75th %)
1310–1520
SAT average
1440
SAT reading
650–740
SAT math
660–780
ACT composite
30–34
Average GPA (estimated)
3.95

Cost

In-state tuition
$16,004
Out-of-state tuition
$35,124
Room & board
$14,522
Books & supplies
$1,200
Total cost of attendance
$33,642
Average net price
$14,355

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)
85%
Graduated on time (4 years)
73%
First-year retention
95%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$64,802
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$81,054
Median debt at graduation
$19,500
Students with federal loans
27%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
76%

About 12% 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
73%
Low-income (Pell)
77%
First-generation
77%

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
15,766
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
43%
Application fee
$50
Athletics
NCAA Division I-FBS
Football conference
Big Ten Conference
Varsity athletes
591 (328 men · 263 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 (12)

Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)178
Football119
Gymnastics42
Basketball40
Swimming and Diving (combined)36
Wrestling36
Baseball35
Soccer27
Softball27
Volleyball19
Golf16
Tennis16

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

Campus safety

Safety grade
B
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
1.9 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
125
Property offenses (2022–2024)
203

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 2 campuses (59,238 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.

109reported offenses a year
42 violent a year68 property a year

By offense type, per year

Motor vehicle theft
54
Rape
21
Fondling
12
Burglary
9.0
Aggravated assault
7.3
Arson
4.7
Robbery
1.0

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
$2,038
$30–48k
$5,373
$48–75k
$7,982
$75–110k
$15,152
$110k+
$28,761

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
$33,604

$7,982/year × about 4.2 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.

45%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$10,783
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 45% — get grant money from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign itself, averaging $10,783, which softens the sticker price.

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 7,946 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)
$81,054
Typical debt at graduation
$19,500
Debt vs. one year's pay
24%
Out-earn a HS grad
78%

Typical debt would take roughly 2.4 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Strong value

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.

Women
$72,964
Men
$90,418

Men out-earn women by $17,454 (24%) 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
85°F
Winter low
18°F
Annual rain
40.9″
Annual snow
20.8″

Average temperature

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.44.8JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Champaign 3S, IL US station (1.6 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 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign side by side →

Colleges near University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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.