College · Private nonprofit · Carlinville, IL · Town
Blackburn College
Carlinville, IL
Religious affiliation
Admit rate63%
6-yr median pay$37k
Net price / yr$18k
Undergrad size471
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $18k/yr for a shot at a $37k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 63% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 20.
If you get in
471 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $38k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $18k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$152k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$74k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$78k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback2.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $28.1k
- Room & board
- $9.9k
- Books & supplies
- $1,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants50%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans61%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$24k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention61%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr57%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$37k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$47k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 471
- Location
- Carlinville, IL
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
Identity
Religious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White75%
- Black14%
- Hispanic10%
- Two or more races1%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students44%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time3%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$30k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 42
What you can study.