Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $51,989 ten years after enrolling, more than at 44% of colleges; 57% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 1.2 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
What graduates owe
$21.5K
According to Eastern Illinois University's most recent Common Data Set, 77% of its Class of 2017 graduates (839 students) borrowed from any source: federal, institutional, state, or private, averaging $30,695 among those who did.
Counts students who started here as first-time students and earned a bachelor's; the federal median counts federal loans only, including students who left without a degree.
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
59 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 27 more are enrolled at another college. (1,548 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
46 of 100 finish within 4 years, 58 within 6, and 59 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 46% | 58% | 59% |
| Started in college here | 34% | 53% | 54% |
| Transferred in | 58% | 63% | 64% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 40%, 16 points below students with no need-based federal aid (56%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients452 students
40% · 16 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant111 students
58% · 1 point above students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan233 students
56% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White381 students
58% · 11 points above all students
- Asian9 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Hispanic/Latino82 students
50% · 3 points above all students
- Black259 students
32% · 16 points below all students
- Two or more races29 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- International16 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- American Indian/Alaska Native3 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander1 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus Eastern Illinois University. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;College Scorecard, Entered fall 2023;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;Eastern Illinois University Common Data Set 2017–18, Class of 2017About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)