College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Elmhurst University

ILMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #614 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places Elmhurst University in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Elmhurst University is a private nonprofit university in Elmhurst, Illinois, where the degree mix leans toward Business, Education, and Psychology. Access is above average.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds, while the unexplained remainder subtracts.

Return is above average. Pell recipients complete within a few points of the overall rate, and access is above average.

Affordability is modestly below average, so the net price picture is worth a close look on the cost calculator. The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones—Computer Science and Accounting—are much smaller.

Elmhurst University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
73.6%
Six-year completion[2]
70.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$63,784

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$23,098
Median student debt[4]
$20,489
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$27,470

Elmhurst University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Elmhurst University is a private nonprofit university in Elmhurst, Illinois, enrolling 3,006 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (58th percentile).

The university admits 73.6% of applicants, a rate close to the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Retention runs below the peer median: 79.9% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

The six-year graduation rate is 70.0%, just above the peer median of 68.8%. An estimated 40.8% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four sit close together, with access the strongest and affordability the weakest (66th and 44th percentiles). Return and mobility fall between them (65th and 44th percentiles).

The shape is a private university where no single pillar stands far above the others.

Access is the clearest part of Elmhurst University’s profile, with return also ahead of its mobility and affordability measures. Azimuth places access in the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, the university’s strongest pillar; return is in the 65th percentile.

Mobility stands in the 44th percentile, while affordability is the weakest pillar at the 44th percentile. The profile is stronger on access and return than on affordability and mobility.

Enrolled students who submitted SAT scores spanned the middle 50% from 990 to 1,260, while the ACT middle 50% for those who submitted ran from 23 to 30. 36.8% of undergraduates here receive Pell Grants, a measure of financial access to the university.

Azimuth ranks Elmhurst University #504 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Pell recipients finish within six years at 66.1%, a rate separated from the overall entering cohort figure (70.0%) by 3.9 percentage points, placing Pell completion below the overall rate.

For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #819 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Elmhurst University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#614
Illinois#26
Midwest#127

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 44
Access & reach
National percentile: 66
Affordability
National percentile: 44
Return on investment
National percentile: 65

01 / Elmhurst University briefing

Elmhurst University cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, Elmhurst University has an average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, of $24,185, with aid offsetting $30,494 against the published price on average. The published cost of attendance is $54,679 (an average across living arrangements).

Separately, the university lists tuition and fees of $42,955 and room and board of $14,528. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371; Elmhurst’s is $3,186 below that figure.

Azimuth ranks the university #794 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The aid savings and lower-than-peer average net price point in the same direction for recipients.

The published cost of attendance is $54,679, an average across living arrangements. Published tuition and fees are $42,955.

Azimuth ranks Elmhurst University #794 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. After grants and scholarships, aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 average $17,892, those in the middle band ($48,001–$75,000) average $23,098, and those in the highest band (over $110,000) average $30,232.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $12,340. Aid covers about 56% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the average net price across all bands to $24,185.

That is $3,186 below the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $20,489 in federal student loans, $3,710 below the $24,199 peer median.

87.5% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $27,470 in Parent PLUS loans.

If repaid over ten years, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$23,098

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Elmhurst University

Elmhurst University’s median federal debt is below the comparable-school median, although federal borrowing is widespread. Among federal-loan borrowers who complete, median federal student loan debt is $20,489.

Federal loans are used by 87.5% of federal aid recipients. Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $24,199, making Elmhurst University’s median $3,710 below that benchmark.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $27,470.

Four years after completion, federally aided graduates of Elmhurst University who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $63,784. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median lands at the 62nd percentile.

It sits $4,466 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome falls at the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $44,480 in a downside case to $81,539 in an upside case, with $63,784 as the typical outcome.

Borrowers who complete hold a median of $20,489 in federal student loans, $3,710 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $27,470, separate from the federal student-loan borrowers counted in the student debt figure. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$20,489
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$27,470

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$233/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$349/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Elmhurst University briefing

Elmhurst University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Elmhurst University shows a split return picture: graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations—the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students—fall in the 67th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,855. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,256.

Four years after completion, median earnings are $63,784, in the 62nd percentile. That is $4,466 below the peer median of $68,250, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The favorable model result and below-peer-median comparison point in different directions.

Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, the median at Elmhurst University four years after completion is $63,784. That is $4,466 below the $68,250 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

The university lands in the 62nd percentile for earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions, drawn from a cohort of 969 completers. Graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix run from $44,480 on the downside to $81,539 on the upside, with $63,784 as the typical outcome. Based on the program mix, an estimated 31.1% of Elmhurst University graduates continue on to graduate study.

Elmhurst University has a mixed return picture: graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students. Four years after completion, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $63,784, in the 62nd percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with the university's figure $4,466 below it. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, place in the 67th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $4,855. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,256.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $257. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix run from $44,480 on the downside to $81,539 on the upside.

Azimuth ranks the university #514 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. The model-based measure is favorable, though the school-level median sits below the comparable-school midpoint.

Computer Science is the highest-earning listed field, with 11 degrees awarded and median earnings of $101,273 four years after completion. In Azimuth's comparison with the national median for the field, that figure compares at 0.95x.

Business Administration and Management awarded 75 degrees and had median earnings of $76,678 four years after completion, comparing at 1.12x to the national median for its field. Nursing awarded 56 degrees and had median earnings of $79,372 at the same point, comparing at 0.89x to its field's national median.

These fields pair differing award counts with earnings that vary across the program mix.

The upside scenario reaches $81,539, marking a wide range of possible earnings at Elmhurst University. The downside earnings scenario is $44,480; both figures are scenarios estimated from the program mix rather than observed groups.

Among individual fields, Computer Science has median earnings of $101,273 four years after completion, Accounting has $79,654, and Nursing has $79,372.

Elmhurst University pairs lower borrower debt than its comparable institutions with higher-than-expected earnings. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $20,489.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $233 a month if repaid over ten years. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199, and Elmhurst sits below it by $3,710.

For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $27,470. Graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students.

Lower debt and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction, though family borrowing is a separate consideration.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$4,855
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$1,256
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$3,599

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Elmhurst University briefing

Elmhurst University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

For applicants, Elmhurst University's 73.6% admission rate indicates that admissions were open to a substantial share of the reported entering-class pool. That rate is above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

It summarizes reported admissions results for that pool rather than forecasting an individual application.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
73.6%
Approximate lower endpoint
990
Reported average
1151
Approximate upper endpoint
1260

Enrolled students who submitted scores. This range is not an admission cutoff. The endpoints add section percentiles; they are not verified composite-score percentiles. A separate SAT-equivalent average is not plotted as a median. Source: College Scorecard; sum of section 25th/75th percentiles; enrolled score-submitters.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Elmhurst University briefing

What are the largest majors at Elmhurst University?[12]

At Elmhurst University, program earnings span markedly different fields, from computing to psychology. Computer Science sits at the high end, with median earnings of $101,273 four years after completion across 11 degrees awarded.

Accounting follows at $79,654 and 25 degrees awarded. Among larger programs, Nursing recorded $79,372 with 56 degrees awarded, while Psychology was at the more moderate level of $52,264 across 93 degrees awarded.

The contrast shows that four-year earnings at the university vary substantially by field, including among programs with sizable award counts.

At Elmhurst University, Business represents 20.7% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and the largest fields have sharply different earnings profiles. The larger fields therefore offer different earnings reference points for prospective majors.

The program mix at Elmhurst University leans toward professional fields. Business accounts for 20.7% of bachelor's degrees awarded, the largest share, with Education next at 12.2% and Psychology at 11.5%.

The university has 20 programs with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Psychology, at 93 degrees awarded, followed by Business Administration and Management at 75 and Nursing at 56.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Computer Science graduates earn a median of $101,273 four years after completion, from 11 degrees awarded a year. Nursing, the third-largest program, is also among the best-paid, with median earnings of $79,372.

Accounting, with 25 degrees awarded, and Business Administration and Management follow, at $79,654 and $76,678 respectively. The largest program, Psychology, posts median earnings of $52,264, a figure that sits below the earnings of the business and nursing programs that award nearly as many degrees.

The pattern is one of earnings strength concentrated in business and health fields, while the largest program in the social sciences trails. 11.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM, a modest share alongside the larger business, education, and health professions clusters.

The earnings spread between the highest-paid program and the largest one is considerable, and the programs that pay best are not the ones that award the most degrees.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 93 degrees awarded
$52,264
Business Administration, Management and Operations 75 degrees awarded
$76,678
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 56 degrees awarded
$79,372
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 48 degrees awarded
$52,106
Biology, General 42 degrees awarded
$60,161
Finance and Financial Management Services 39 degrees awarded
$76,433

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Elmhurst University briefing

How does Elmhurst University serve students from different backgrounds?

At Elmhurst University, completion rates and modeled earnings point in different directions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 70.0%, with Pell recipients completing within six years at 66.1%, below the overall rate by 3.9 percentage points.

Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 44th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $3,599 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, in the 67th percentile. Higher-than-expected earnings sit beside a lower Pell completion rate.

Elmhurst University has multiple entry routes, with an estimated 40.8% of undergraduates arriving as transfers or part-time students. It admits 73.6% of applicants and enrolls 3,006 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients account for 36.8% of undergraduates. Azimuth assigns the access pillar to the 66th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The transfer presence, Pell participation, and admission rate describe access from different starting points.

06 / Elmhurst University briefing

What colleges are similar to Elmhurst University?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Elmhurst University.

Admissions peerLewis University71.3% admitted
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversityLewis University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$66,586+$2,802 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$17,028-$7,157 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%71.3%
Explore Lewis University →
Higher-admission alternativeUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee100.0% admitted
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversityUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$62,480-$1,304 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$15,014-$9,171 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%100.0%
Explore University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee →
Nearby alternativeAurora UniversityNearby option · IL
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversityAurora University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$64,521+$737 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$18,838-$5,347 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%80.9%
Explore Aurora University →
Higher-earnings alternativeSUNY Maritime College$104,752 earnings
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversitySUNY Maritime College
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$104,752+$40,968 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$22,367-$1,818 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%72.4%
Explore SUNY Maritime College →
Lower-cost alternativeSaint Xavier University$10,970 average net price
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversitySaint Xavier University
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$66,961+$3,177 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$10,970-$13,215 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%84.3%
Explore Saint Xavier University →
Similar profileUniversity of IndianapolisMatched across several measures
Comparison with Elmhurst University
MeasureElmhurst UniversityUniversity of Indianapolis
Peer earnings · 4 years$63,784$63,673-$111 vs Elmhurst University
Average annual net price$24,185$21,602-$2,583 vs Elmhurst University · lower cost
Admission rate73.6%66.5%
Explore University of Indianapolis →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings