College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

North Central College

ILMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #942 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, Azimuth places the university in the 36th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

North Central College is a private nonprofit university in Naperville, Illinois, where the degree mix is led by Business and Psychology. The strongest is return, which is around the average, while access is modestly below average and mobility is modestly below average.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures adds to expected earnings, while the part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts from them.

Pell recipients finish at a rate above the cohort as a whole, and the lowest income band pays well below the published cost. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is wide, so what a family pays depends heavily on income.

The admission rate is above the median for comparable schools. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, and the largest programs are not the highest-earning ones.

North Central College at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
77.3%
Six-year completion[2]
64.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$61,656

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$16,362
Median student debt[4]
$24,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$30,000

North Central College rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

North Central College is a private nonprofit university in Naperville, Illinois, enrolling 2,428 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits in the middle of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 77.3% of applicants, against a median of 71.2% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Of students who start full time, 77.1% return for a second year and 64.0% finish within six years.

The median rates for comparable institutions are 83.4% and 68.8%, respectively. An estimated 36.7% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a substantial part of the student body did not begin here.

The pattern at North Central College is one of moderate outcomes across the board rather than a single standout strength. Return is the strongest pillar, while access is the weakest, with mobility and affordability sitting between them. The four pillars are not far apart.

Return is the relative bright spot for North Central College, although the pillar profile is uneven rather than broadly strong. Azimuth places return in the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, making it the strongest pillar, while affordability sits in the 43rd percentile.

Mobility falls in the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and access is the weakest pillar at the 32nd percentile. Return’s middle-of-the-pack standing sits alongside lower access, mobility, and affordability measures.

The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores at North Central College fell between 1,055 and 1,310. The middle 50% of ACT scores fell between 24 and 29.

23.9% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks the university #994 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The Pell completion rate is 67.6%, which sits 3.6 percentage points above the overall six-year graduation rate (64.0%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks North Central College #909 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students.

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

North Central College rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#942
Illinois#42
Midwest#226

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 38
Access & reach
National percentile: 32
Affordability
National percentile: 43
Return on investment
National percentile: 50

01 / North Central College briefing

North Central College cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, North Central College is below comparable institutions on average net price. Its published cost of attendance is $57,219, an average across living arrangements.

Tuition and fees are $45,726, and room and board is $14,688. The , what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $21,044.

Average aid savings against the sticker price total $36,175. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371, and North Central College is below that figure by $6,327.

Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower-than-peer net price and average aid savings point in the same direction for aid recipients.

The published cost of attendance at North Central College is $57,219 (an average across living arrangements), with aid changing the amount families pay. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $12,507 in the lowest family-income band, $13,486 in the lower-middle band, $16,362 in the middle band, $20,590 in the upper-middle band, and $26,961 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $14,454. Azimuth ranks the university #810 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 63% of the published cost, an average offset of $36,175. The average net price across all aid recipients is $21,044, which is $6,327 below the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $45,726, and room and board are $14,688; the lower average price relative to peers sits alongside a much higher published charge before aid. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $24,500, and 95.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That is $301 above the peer median debt of $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $278 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent PLUS borrowers have median borrowing of $30,000.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$16,362

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at North Central College

Federal borrowing is widespread at North Central College, where 95.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $24,500.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median is $24,199, placing the college $301 above that figure. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $30,000.

North Central College presents a mixed return picture: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $61,656 four years after completion. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that figure sits in the 56th percentile.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 37th percentile in that Azimuth cohort. Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students.

The earnings scenarios place earnings at $49,627 in a downside case, $61,656 in a typical case, and $81,634 in an upside case. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $24,500, above the $24,199 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $278 a month if repaid over ten years. Below-expected earnings and debt above the peer median leave a mixed return picture.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate parent-borrower population, with median borrowing of $30,000. For student borrowers represented by the federal-debt figure, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $278 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
$24,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$30,000

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$278/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$381/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 / North Central College briefing

North Central College career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

North Central College has a middle-of-the-pack return picture, with earnings below the model's expectation and the comparable-peer median. Azimuth places its return pillar in the 50th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between graduate earnings and the model's expectation for similar students, is in the 37th 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 $9,851.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $61,656 four years after completion, in the 56th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with $6,594 below it.

At North Central College, federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $61,656 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 56th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 930 completers.

The typical earnings scenario matches the observed median, while downside and upside scenarios range from $49,627 to $81,634. Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students.

An estimated 29.5% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. The middle-range earnings standing and lower-than-expected modeled result point in different directions.

Return is the strongest Azimuth pillar for North Central College, although its earnings measures point in different directions. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $61,656 four years after completion, in the 56th percentile.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250; the college’s figure is $6,594 below it. Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, falls in the 37th 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 $9,851. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,131.

Azimuth ranks the college #737 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $49,627 in the downside scenario to $81,634 in the upside scenario.

The return picture is mixed: earnings sit below peers and the model, while the modeled range is wide. Program earnings vary across the listed fields.

Management Science had 5 degrees awarded and median earnings of $105,350 four years after completion. Finance had 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $81,562, while Psychology had 71 degrees awarded and median earnings of $52,062.

Accounting combined 37 degrees awarded with median earnings of $78,125, showing a higher figure among the larger listed fields.

Program choice marks a wide range in modeled earnings at the university. The downside scenario is $49,627, whereas the upside scenario is $81,634; both are earnings scenarios from the program mix, not observed groups.

Among program medians four years after completion, Management Science reaches $105,350, Finance reaches $81,562, and Economics reaches $80,494. Those program results help show why the modeled range is broad.

North Central College pairs a lower average net price with borrower debt that sits above comparable institutions. Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $21,044, below the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,327.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $24,500. That is $301 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $278 a month if repaid over ten years. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, adds a caution to the cost picture.

Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students. Aid covers about 63% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

Lower net price sits alongside slightly higher debt and below-expected earnings.

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.
-$9,851
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$4,996

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 / North Central College briefing

North Central College acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Admission to North Central College was relatively open in the reported cycle, with 77.3% of applicants admitted. That rate sits above the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
77.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1055
Reported average
1213
Approximate upper endpoint
1310

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 / North Central College briefing

What are the largest majors at North Central College?[12]

Earnings vary sharply across fields at North Central College, from a small high-earning program to larger programs with more moderate results four years after completion. Management Science records median earnings of $105,350 and 5 degrees awarded.

Finance follows at $81,562 across 31 degrees awarded, while Accounting reports $78,125 and 37 degrees awarded. At the more moderate end among the largest fields, Teacher Education has median earnings of $49,224 four years after completion and 47 degrees awarded.

The contrast between these fields shows that the earnings picture depends substantially on the field selected.

Business accounts for 29.4% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, alongside several fields with substantially different reported earnings. For each field below, the figures pair degrees awarded in one academic year with median earnings four years after completion: Management Science had 5 degrees awarded and $105,350 in median earnings; Finance had 31 degrees awarded and $81,562; Economics had 15 degrees awarded and $80,494; Computer Science had 19 degrees awarded and $79,877; and Accounting had 37 degrees awarded and $78,125.

The spread across these fields makes the choice of field especially consequential: the reported medians for the business-oriented options sit above those for several other large areas of study.

The bachelor's degree mix at North Central College is anchored in Business, which accounts for 29.4% of degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 11.5% and Social Sciences at 9.1%. Across 21 programs with published four-year earnings data, the largest by degrees awarded is Psychology at 71 degrees awarded, with Teacher Education next at 47 and Marketing at 43.

The highest-earning program is a much smaller one: Management Science graduates earn a median of $105,350 four years after completion, from just 5 degrees awarded a year. Finance, with 31 degrees awarded, reports median earnings of $81,562, and Economics follows at $80,494 from 15 degrees awarded.

Accounting, the fifth-largest program at 37 degrees awarded, also sits among the top earners with a median of $78,125. The pattern is one of earnings spread across the program mix rather than concentrated in a single field.

The largest program, Psychology, posts a median of $52,062, while the three highest-earning programs with at least 15 degrees awarded—Finance, Economics, and Computer Science—all sit above the median for the largest program. 16.9% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, a share that does not dominate the earnings picture here; the strongest returns come from business and quantitative social sciences.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Psychology, General 71 degrees awarded
$52,062
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 47 degrees awarded
$49,224
Marketing 43 degrees awarded
$71,123
Sports, Kinesiology, and Physical Education/Fitness 42 degrees awarded
$60,018
Accounting and Related Services 37 degrees awarded
$78,125
Business Administration, Management and Operations 33 degrees awarded
$65,992

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 / North Central College briefing

How does North Central College serve students from different backgrounds?

Return is North Central College’s strongest measured pillar, but its mobility figures show Pell recipients completing at 67.6% within six years, above the overall 64.0% six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort by 3.6 percentage points. Azimuth places the mobility pillar in the 38th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 37th percentile. Graduates earn about $4,996 less than the model expects for similar students.

Pell completion runs ahead of the overall rate, whereas modeled earnings fall short of expectations.

North Central College admits 77.3% of applicants and enrolls 2,428 undergraduates, indicating a relatively open entry point for a private nonprofit university. Among those undergraduates, 23.9% receive Pell Grants, and the estimated share of entrants outside the first-time, full-time group is 36.7%.

For the broader comparison, Azimuth places the access pillar in the 32nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Enrollment routes and the national access position point to a narrower access profile than the admission rate alone suggests.

06 / North Central College briefing

What colleges are similar to North Central College?[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 North Central College.

Admissions peerWisconsin Lutheran College78.2% admitted
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeWisconsin Lutheran College
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$57,728-$3,928 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$23,245+$2,201 vs North Central College · higher cost
Admission rate77.3%78.2%
Higher-admission alternativeIllinois State University88.2% admitted
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeIllinois State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$62,507+$851 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$19,398-$1,646 vs North Central College · lower cost
Admission rate77.3%88.2%
Explore Illinois State University →
Nearby alternativeElmhurst UniversityNearby option · IL
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeElmhurst University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$63,784+$2,128 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$24,185+$3,141 vs North Central College · higher cost
Admission rate77.3%73.6%
Explore Elmhurst University →
Higher-earnings alternativeSUNY Maritime College$104,752 earnings
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeSUNY Maritime College
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$104,752+$43,096 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$22,367+$1,323 vs North Central College · higher cost
Admission rate77.3%72.4%
Explore SUNY Maritime College →
Lower-cost alternativeSaint Xavier University$10,970 average net price
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeSaint Xavier University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$66,961+$5,305 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$10,970-$10,074 vs North Central College · lower cost
Admission rate77.3%84.3%
Explore Saint Xavier University →
Similar profileDenison UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with North Central College
MeasureNorth Central CollegeDenison University
Peer earnings · 4 years$61,656$62,838+$1,182 vs North Central College
Average annual net price$21,044$40,007+$18,963 vs North Central College · higher cost
Admission rate77.3%17.4%
Explore Denison University →

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