Quad

Head-to-head

Key differences

The biggest gaps between these schools, largest first.

  1. 1

    UIUC costs about $9.7K less per year on average than UW ($28,467 vs. $38,160, all students)

    Average cost, all students
  2. 2

    UIUC's grants cover 26% of its full price on average, vs. 15% at UW

    Aid generosity
  3. 3

    UIUC has 9 pts more Pell recipients than UW (23% vs. 15%)

    Pell Grant recipients
  4. 4

    UW has 8 pts more first-gen students than UIUC (33% vs. 25%)

    First-generation students
  5. 5

    UIUC's SAT midpoint is 55 points higher than UW's

    SAT midpoint
  6. 6

    UIUC's yield is 5 pts higher than UW's

    Yield rate

The shape of each school

Each axis is a national rank among 4-year colleges; further out = more of it.

SelectivityTest scoresSizePell shareFirst-genDiversity

Who's hardest to get into

UIUC admits 38%, UW 42%; UIUC's yield is higher, at 29%.

Acceptance rate
UW42%
UIUC38%
Quad's selectivity
  • UWVery selective
  • UIUCVery selectivefrom IllinoisHighly selectivefrom other states
SAT middle 50%Axis 1200–1600
UW
1320–1502
UIUC
1390–1520
How they read a recordfirst-years at 3.75+
  • UWRigor and GPA very important76%
  • UIUCRigor and GPA very important

Who's on each campus

UIUC is a bit larger than UW (37,562 vs. 31,942 undergrads) and has the larger Pell share.

Undergrads
UW31.9K
UIUC37.6K
Pell Grant share
UW15%
UIUC23%

Majors and faculty

Computer Science leads at UW, and Research and Experimental Psychology at UIUC; both have 20 students per faculty member.

Students per faculty member
UW20 to 1
UIUC20 to 1
Most popular majorshare of graduates
  • UWComputer Science6%
  • UIUCResearch and Experimental Psychology, Other6%

What each costs

UIUC costs about $9.7K less a year than UW on average, and its grants cover the larger share of its price.

Average cost, all students
UW$38.2K
UIUC$28.5K
Aid generosity
UW15%
UIUC26%

What each pays off

UIUC's former students earn more, a median $81.1K ten years after enrolling; both graduate more than 80% within six years.

Median earnings, 10 years
UW$78.5K
UIUC$81.1K
Graduation rate
UW85%
UIUC86%

How each has changed

Applications grew at both; both got more selective.

Applications, 10-year change
  • UWGrowing+119%
  • UIUCGrowing+106%
All the numbersEvery figure for these colleges in one table, with differences highlighted.