University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · Public · Small city · Carnegie R1/R2 · Champagne · Champagne-Urbana · Champaign-Urbana · Ilinios · Ilinois · Illinios · UICU · UIUC · University of Illinois at CU · University of Illinois at Champagne · University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana · University of Illinois at Champaign · University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana · University of Illinois at UC · University of Illinois at Urbana · Urbana · Urbana-Champagne · Urbana-Champaign
Public institution in Champaign, IL · 34,623 undergraduates · 44% acceptance rate · $81,054 median earnings 10 years after entry.
- Top 1%Undergraduates
- Top 6%Median ACT
- Top 7%Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- Top 7%Graduation rate (4-year)
Stats
College Scorecard figures, each with where this school sits nationally among institutions that report the same measure. A dash means the school does not report it.
Cost
- Average net price
- $15,201697th cheapest of 1,985 reporting
- In-state tuition & fees
- $16,004996th cheapest of 2,042 reporting
- Out-of-state tuition & fees
- $34,5011,418th cheapest of 2,042 reporting
- Cost of attendance
- $32,1341,003rd cheapest of 1,985 reporting
- Median graduate debt
- $19,500574th lowest of 1,880 reporting
Outcomes
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $81,054130th highest of 1,969 reporting
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $64,802158th highest of 1,964 reporting
- Graduation rate (4-year)
- 84.9%143rd highest of 2,031 reporting
- Full-time retention
- 94.3%144th highest of 1,853 reporting
Admissions
- Acceptance rate
- 43.7%209th most selective of 1,608 reporting
- Average SAT
- 141883rd highest of 1,024 reporting
- Median ACT
- 3258th highest of 954 reporting
Campus
- Undergraduates
- 34,62330th largest of 2,162 reporting
- Student-faculty ratio
- 20.0:11,878th smallest of 2,159 reporting
- Pell Grant share
- 23.8%1,529th highest of 2,140 reporting
Nearest large-hub airport: 119 mi (MDW)
On 5 of our 111 lists
Every published ranking this school appears on, with its rank there.
Applying
- EANov 1
- RDJan 5
- Common App member
- Yes
- Application fee
- $75
- Personal essay
- Required
- Writing supplement
- No
Supplemental prompts (2025-26)
- You’ll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you’ll answer will depend on whether you’re applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you’ve selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words. If you’re applying through Common App, you’ll find our major-specific writing prompts in the “Writing” tab of our supplemental questions after adding us as one of your colleges.
- If You’re Applying to a Major:
- Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
- Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
- If You’re Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of Exploratory Studies:
- What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you’re considering at Illinois and why.
- What are your future career or academic goals? You may include courses you took in high school and how these impacted your goals.
- If You’ve Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared):
- 1. Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.
Source: IvyWise 2025-26 Common App supplements
Deadlines and essay flags come from the Common App Requirements Grid, joined by school name. Always confirm against the school’s own admissions page before applying.
Best-paying fields of study
Median earnings one and two years after graduating, by field. Showing 12 of 95 reported programs.
| Field | Level | 1 yr | 2 yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | bachelors | $117,393 | $101,592 |
| Mathematics and Computer ScienceMultidisciplinary Studies | bachelors | $103,078 | $103,078 |
| Computer EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $85,585 | $84,100 |
| Nuclear EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $74,576 | $69,535 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $73,321 | $73,707 |
| Biomedical/Medical EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $73,164 | $74,576 |
| Management Information Systems and ServicesBusiness | bachelors | $73,112 | $70,736 |
| Industrial EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $72,134 | $75,775 |
| Finance and Financial Management ServicesBusiness | bachelors | $71,619 | $71,935 |
| Engineering MechanicsEngineering | bachelors | $71,486 | $74,307 |
| Mechanical EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $71,457 | $71,144 |
| Chemical EngineeringEngineering | bachelors | $71,295 | $74,279 |
Campus facts
- Founded in 1867source
- Motto: "Learning and Labor"source
- Athletic nickname: "Fighting Illini"source
- Gies Memorial Stadium seats about 55,524source
- Competes in NCAA Division Isource
- Campus size: about 6,370 acressource
- Formerly known as "Illinois Industrial University" (1867–1885)source
- Formerly known as "University of Illinois" (1885–1982)source
- Formerly known as "University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign" (1982–2021)source
- Athletic conference: FBSsource
- A [[National Sea Grant College Program institutionsource
- A sea-grant]] institutionsource
- A [[National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program institutionsource
- A space-grant]] institutionsource
- 4 Nobel laureates affiliatedsource
- Fight song: ""Oskee Wow Wow""source
- Notable alum: Roger Ebert (Film critic)source
- Notable alum: Hugh Hefner (Playboy founder)source
- Notable alum: Jawed Karim (YouTube co-founder)source
Athletics — 12 sports
NCAA Division I-FBS · NCAA Division I
Athletic scholarships allowed · Athletic aid $15,010,418 (M $8,613,622 · W $6,396,796)
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming and Diving (combined)
- Tennis
- Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
Self-reported EADA participants (2024-2025). Athletic aid is institution-level, not per sport.
Notable alumni
- Roger EbertFilm critic
- Hugh HefnerPlayboy founderattended
- Jawed KarimYouTube co-founder
Illustrative alumni only — not exhaustive and not a quality ranking. Affiliation claims cite Wikipedia/Wikidata; confirm on primary bios before relying on them.
Key links
- Official websiteillinois.edu
- College ScorecardFederal source for every figure above (UNITID 145637)
- Compare colleges in ILRe-score with your weights
- The Most Selective Colleges in IllinoisEvery eligible four-year in this state, ranked by published admission rate
- Showdown: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign vs DeVry University-IllinoisHigher-or-lower on real Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Sports directoryAll 12 EADA programs at this school
- Build an admissions plan8th–12th grade actions for this college — sports, activities, timeline
- MethodologyWhat these figures do and do not capture
- How to read a school page end to endStats, standings, lists, athletics, news — one profile, many jobs. Know which panel answers which question.
- Sticker price is a trapPublished tuition is a starting rumor. Net price is closer to what families actually pay.
- What acceptance rate actually measuresSelectivity is a competition statistic — not a quality score, and not your personal odds.
- A plan from eighth grade — without fake certaintySchool-anchored milestones, sports scarcity honesty, and EC playbooks — not invented admit odds.