College · Public · Charleston, IL · Town
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL
Admit rate65%
6-yr median pay$43k
Net price / yr$13k
Undergrad size4,188
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $13k/yr for a shot at a $43k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 65% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average SAT 1000 · ACT 20.
If you get in
4,188 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
Town setting — self-contained, social life mostly on campus.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $27k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $13k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$108k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$51k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$57k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback1.2x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $13.7k
- Tuition · out-of-state
- $16.2k
- Room & board
- $12.3k
- Books & supplies
- $150
How students pay for it.
Pell grants29%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans31%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$22k
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 retention71%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr47%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$43k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$52k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out29%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Town
- Control
- Public
- Undergrad size
- 4,188
- Location
- Charleston, IL
- Region
- Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · medium · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Also known as
- EIU · E.I.U. · Eastern Illinois
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White57%
- Black18%
- Hispanic10%
- Unknown7%
- Two or more races3%
- International3%
- Asian1%
First-gen students34%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time11%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$39k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 56
What you can study.