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🎓 College profile

Northern Illinois University

IL · Public · Small suburb · 24,177 applicants 2023

R2 Research
70% admit rate $21,834/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The major moves the money more than the admit letter. Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering grads from here earn about $93,962 four years out; drama grads about $36,777 — a 2.6× spread on the same diploma. Have the major conversation before you deposit, not after.
  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 5× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$28,851/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$57,808/yr) still runs about 5× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Worth asking: the four-year finish rate. Only 49% finish in four years here. Ask what drives that — course availability, transfers, work loads — because a fifth year is a real cost few families budget for.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at Northern Illinois University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Northern Illinois University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$13,391/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • In-state residents (tuition ~$13,248 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Health Professions (the two biggest majors)
  • Research-curious students (R2 — active research output)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
R2: Doctoral - High Research Activity
Total enrollment
11,301
10,000 - 19,999
TuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$13,248
flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
70.5%
Accessible
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$57,808
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$46,113
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$57,808
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
49%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$22,162

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $21,834/yr at Northern Illinois University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$28,851/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Northern Illinois University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$21,834/yr
Family income $75-110k
$17,612/yr
Family income $48-75k
$12,797/yr
Family income $30-48k
$9,854/yr
Family income $0-30k
$10,126/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

5.0× at full price 10.8× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$115,404
~$28,851/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$53,564
$13,391/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$578,080
$57,808/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.0 yrs
at full price (0.9 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Northern Illinois University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Northern Illinois University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
457 degrees · 31.1%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Health Professions
401 degrees · 27.3%
Highest-paying group on this list, but most careers require additional training beyond a 4-year degree.
3. Education
234 degrees · 15.9%
Teaching is the largest path. Salary depends heavily on district + state.
4. Psychology
209 degrees · 14.2%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
5. Engineering
168 degrees · 11.4%
Engineering majors land high-paying technical roles. Top-earning sub-disciplines: petroleum, chemical, computer engineering.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Northern Illinois University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 35 $74,442 $93,962
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 132 $77,257 $93,438
Mechanical Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 115 $68,069 $86,999
Finance and Financial Management Services. Bachelor's Degree 48 $54,802 $86,511
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 122 $63,743 $83,573
Industrial Engineering. Bachelor's Degree 21 $72,112 $82,584
Engineering Technologies/Technicians, General. Bachelor's Degree 58 $62,117 $81,554
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. Bachelor's Degree 19 $70,654 $76,856
Marketing. Bachelor's Degree 125 $51,137 $76,373
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 149 $52,724 $73,176

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

📈 Student body & economic mobility

Who attends here — and what the campus adds.

Opportunity Insights data. Why it matters even if you're full-pay: a high mobility rate means the campus itself confers earnings power — the outcomes aren't just selection effects.

Top-1% access
0.7%
from top-1% households
Mobility rateThe share of ALL students who arrived from the bottom 20% of family incomes AND reached the top 20% themselves by their early 30s — access and lift in one number, and a sign the campus itself adds earnings power.
1.6%
bottom 20% → top 20% by age 32
Upward rate
30.3%
of lower-income students who reach the top 20%
Pell recipientsStudents receiving federal Pell grants, which go to lower- and middle-income families — the standard shorthand for a college's economic mix.
47%
on federal need grants — context for these numbers

Full leaderboards: /college-mobility →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Northern Illinois University

CS degrees (annual)
168
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Northern Illinois University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Alabama in Huntsville
AL · Public
39 stats-based merit scholarships
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $14,895 less before aid
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $14,862 less before aid
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
$14,110/yr full price (in-state) · $14,741 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
University of Illinois Springfield
IL · Public
84% admit rate (vs 70% here)
Illinois State University
IL · Public
89% admit rate (vs 70% here)
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
IL · Public
90% admit rate (vs 70% here)
🚀 Stronger campus value-add
Per Opportunity Insights, these campuses add more earnings power to the students they enroll than Northern Illinois University does — a quality signal, not a cost play.
Pace University
NY · Private nonprofit
8.4% mobility rate (vs 1.6% here)
CUNY New York City College of Technology
NY · Public
8.3% mobility rate (vs 1.6% here)
CUNY Queens College
NY · Public
7.1% mobility rate (vs 1.6% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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