Home › Colleges › University of Illinois Springfield

🎓 College profile

University of Illinois Springfield

IL · Public · Mid-size city · 2,495 applicants 2023

84% admit rate SAT 1010–1210 $16,544/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 6× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$25,521/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$57,103/yr) still runs about 6× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Built for the AI economy. About 1 in 6 degrees here is already in AI, computer science, or data fields. This campus is leaning into the shift, not waiting for it.
  • Ask the submit question deliberately. This college is test-optional — but at many such colleges, applicants who submit strong scores are admitted at meaningfully higher rates. “Optional” is a strategy decision, not a pass.

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

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

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Affordable for in-state families — net price averages ~$9,833/yr. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • Solid academic profiles — the admitted-student bands above are within reach for strong students
  • In-state residents (tuition ~$12,252 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Computer & Information Sciences (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1010, or ACT below 21, or unweighted GPA below ~3.50 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

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
M1: Master's - Larger Programs
Total enrollment
2,263
1,000 - 4,999
In-state 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.
$12,252
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$22,017
+$9,765 vs in-state
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.
84.4%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
1010–1210
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
21–28
composite
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.
$57,103
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
$47,432
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.
$57,103
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.
53%
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."
$19,128

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $16,544/yr at University of Illinois Springfield; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$25,521/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 University of Illinois Springfield's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$16,544/yr
Family income $75-110k
$12,349/yr
Family income $48-75k
$9,520/yr
Family income $30-48k
$5,915/yr
Family income $0-30k
$5,778/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

5.6× at full price 14.5× 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)
$102,084
~$25,521/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$39,332
$9,833/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$571,030
$57,103/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
1.8 yrs
at full price (0.7 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 University of Illinois Springfield

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

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
127 degrees · 31.0%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Computer & Information Sciences
126 degrees · 30.7%
High-paying tech roles dominate. Median software roles cluster in the $90k-$130k range.
3. Psychology
88 degrees · 21.5%
Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.
4. Communication, Journalism, & Related
39 degrees · 9.5%
Media, PR, marketing communications. Salary spread is wide.
5. Social Sciences
30 degrees · 7.3%
Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

💼 What those majors earn here

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

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Computer Science. Bachelor's Degree 76 $72,657 $102,020
Mathematics. Bachelor's Degree 19 — $72,681
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions. Bachelor's Degree 8 — $69,334
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 40 $43,081 $64,048
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 96 $44,236 $61,499
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 39 $33,882 $59,817
Political Science and Government. Bachelor's Degree 22 — $58,236
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 24 $41,064 $55,780
Natural Resources Conservation and Research. Bachelor's Degree 19 — $54,579
Communication and Media Studies. Bachelor's Degree 34 $32,050 $52,588

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 →

Alternatives to University of Illinois Springfield

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.
Texas Tech University
TX · Public
30 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
The University of Alabama
AL · Public
21 stats-based + 2 competitive scholarships
Mississippi State University
MS · Public
18 stats-based + 1 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.
United States Merchant Marine Academy
NY · Public
$9,168/yr full price (in-state) · $16,353 less before aid
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $13,684 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $11,565 less before aid
🛡️ Safer in-state options
Same state and similar selectivity, but with a more forgiving admit rate — useful safety / match anchors.
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
IL · Public
97% admit rate (vs 84% here)

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

Deciding on University of Illinois Springfield?

Get the full picture in one free report — your child's Reach / Match / Likely odds and your real net price, for University of Illinois Springfield and every other college on your list.

Get your child's odds at University of Illinois Springfield →

Score-odds calculator · Improve the score first · Find merit aid

For Parents

📬

Get alerts when University of Illinois Springfield's numbers change

New admit rates, costs, and outcomes — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.

Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎯 Get your child's odds →