College · Public · Chicago, IL · City
Chicago State University
Chicago, IL
Admit rate43%
6-yr median pay$34k
Net price / yr$12k
Undergrad size1,384
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $12k/yr for a shot at a $34k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 43% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter.
If you get in
1,384 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $30k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $12k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$119k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$49k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$70k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.5x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $12.8k
- Room & board
- $11.6k
- Books & supplies
- $2,400
How students pay for it.
Pell grants58%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans78%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$31k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $14k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention52%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr15%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$34k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$43k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out37%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 1,384
- Location
- Chicago, IL
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · medium full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- CSU
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Black77%
- Hispanic10%
- Unknown6%
- International3%
- White3%
- Asian1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students42%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time31%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Veterans3%
Share using veteran education benefits.
Median family income$15k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 29
What you can study.