College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Olivet Nazarene University

ILMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #745 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Overall, Azimuth places Olivet Nazarene University in the 49th percentile nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

Olivet Nazarene University is a private nonprofit university in Bourbonnais, Illinois, where the degree mix is led by Business, Health Professions, and Education. Access is the strongest , well above average, while mobility is below the levels seen at many peers.

Graduates earn less than predicts for students like them, and the typical graduate earns below the median at comparable schools. The model attributes an addition to the factors it measures and a subtraction to what it cannot explain, and within those measured factors the STEM component adds to expected earnings.

Pell recipients complete at a rate below the entering cohort as a whole. What the lowest-income band pays after aid sits well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools, and an estimated share of graduates continue to graduate study rather than entering the workforce directly. A student drawn to Nursing or Engineering should know those are the best-paid programs, while the largest departments are not all the highest-earning ones.

Olivet Nazarene University at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
55.9%
Six-year completion[2]
60.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$64,769

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$18,019
Median student debt[4]
$25,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$21,966

Olivet Nazarene University rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Olivet Nazarene University is a private nonprofit university in Bourbonnais, Illinois, enrolling 2,603 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits near the middle of the field among nonprofit four-year institutions (49th percentile).

The four pillars that make up that standing are spread apart, with access the strongest and mobility the weakest. The university admits 55.9% of applicants, a rate below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size.

Of students who start full time, 70.8% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%. The six-year graduation rate is 60.8%, compared to a peer median of 68.8%.

An estimated 15.2% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort and not the full student body. Access is the strongest pillar, while mobility is the weakest.

Return and affordability fall between them. The shape is a private nonprofit where financial access is the leading measure and mobility is the one that trails the others.

Access is the clearest strength for applicants weighing Olivet Nazarene University alongside its broader profile. Azimuth puts the access pillar in the 78th percentile, its strongest result; return is in the 49th percentile and affordability is in the 47th percentile.

Mobility, the weakest pillar, is in the 17th percentile. Access stands well apart from a mobility measure that sits near the bottom of this profile.

38.0% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores fell between 950 and 1,220.

For the ACT, the middle 50% fell between 19 and 26. Azimuth ranks Olivet Nazarene University #320 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients finish at 50.0%, a figure that sits 10.8 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (60.8%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks the university #1,222 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

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

Olivet Nazarene University rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#745
Illinois#35
Midwest#178

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 17
Access & reach
National percentile: 78
Affordability
National percentile: 47
Return on investment
National percentile: 49

01 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

Olivet Nazarene University cost & financial aid[6][7]

Aid reduces the published price substantially for the average aid recipient at Olivet Nazarene University. The published cost of attendance is $51,981, including $38,900 in tuition and fees and $11,090 for room and board.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price, what aid recipients pay, is $20,729. Average financial aid offsets $31,252 of the published cost.

The peer median net price at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $27,371, placing the university $6,642 below that figure. Azimuth places the university in the 47th percentile for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Its below-peer net price and the aid reduction point in the same direction for average aid recipients.

The published price is only the starting point for aid recipients at Olivet Nazarene University. Cost of attendance is $51,981.

Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,232 for the lowest family-income band, $15,056 for the lower-middle family-income band, $18,019 for the middle family-income band, $23,218 for the upper-middle family-income band, and $25,580 for the highest family-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,348.

Azimuth ranks the university #752 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 60% of the published cost, an average savings of $31,252 against the sticker price.

Across all aid recipients, the is $20,729, which is $6,642 below the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size). Published tuition and fees are $38,900, with room and board listed at $11,090.

Lower average net prices than comparable institutions sit alongside substantial published charges. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000.

That is $801 above the $24,199 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size), and 95.4% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,966.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$18,019

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Olivet Nazarene University

Federal borrowing reaches 95.4% of federal aid recipients at Olivet Nazarene University, so the debt figures apply to a large share of the undergraduate population. Among completers who borrowed federal loans, median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, and the university’s median is $801 above that benchmark. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,966.

Borrowing is common, and the federal-debt median sits above the comparable-institution benchmark.

At Olivet Nazarene University, the return picture is mixed: earnings are near expectation, and federal debt is above the peer median. Federally aided completers working and not enrolled earn a median of $64,769 four years after completion, in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings beyond expectations is the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students; Azimuth places it in the 52nd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Program-mix scenarios place earnings at $44,370 in a downside case, $64,769 in a typical case, and $84,028 in an upside case. At completion, median federal student loan debt is $25,000.

It is $801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Near-expected earnings and above-peer debt make the return picture mixed.

For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $21,966. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 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
$25,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$21,966

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$284/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$279/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 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

Olivet Nazarene University career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Return is close to the peer midpoint, though the model splits its expectation gap between program mix and the institution. Azimuth places Olivet Nazarene University’s return pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 52nd percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,647. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,472.

Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $64,769 four years after completion, in the 65th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions of the same type and size, is $68,250, with Olivet $3,481 below it.

The peer comparison and model result both describe earnings near their reference points.

At Olivet Nazarene University, median earnings are $64,769 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places this earnings measure in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,225 completers.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sit near the expected level. Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Earnings scenarios based on the program mix run from a downside of $44,370 to an upside of $84,028, with the typical scenario matching the median. An estimated 27.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Near-expected earnings and a wide scenario range point to outcomes that can differ by field.

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, Olivet Nazarene University has median earnings of $64,769 four years after completion, placing it in the 65th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with the university's figure $3,481 below that mark.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, fall in the 52nd percentile. Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $3,647. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,472.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $1,259. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $44,370 in the downside scenario to $84,028 in the upside scenario.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 49th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. These figures describe federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled, rather than every person who attended the university.

Both the peer comparison and model estimate place earnings below their reference points. Nursing is the largest program, with 87 degrees awarded and median earnings of $84,705 four years after completion.

Engineering awarded 51 degrees, and its program median was $82,632. Among smaller programs, Accounting awarded 9 degrees and posted $77,132, while Biology awarded 12 degrees with $58,864.

These program figures show a wide earnings range across fields, including the largest programs.

Earnings differ widely across fields at Olivet Nazarene University, so the modeled range matters alongside the schoolwide figure. The downside earnings scenario is $44,370, and the upside scenario is $84,028; both are estimated from the program mix rather than observed groups.

Four years after completion, medians are $84,705 in Nursing, $82,632 in Engineering, and $77,132 in Accounting. Those field figures sit toward the upper end of the modeled range.

At Olivet Nazarene University, a lower average net price than at comparable institutions sits alongside federal borrowing that is above the peer median. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,729, below the $27,371 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,642.

Across family-income bands, average net price is $17,232 in the lowest band, $15,056 in the next band, $18,019 in the middle band, $23,218 in the next-highest band, and $25,580 in the highest band. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $25,000, above that peer median of $24,199 by $801.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

The lower net price sits alongside debt above the peer figure and earnings effectively at the expected level.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$3,647
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,472
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
-$825

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 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

Olivet Nazarene University acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

At 55.9%, Olivet Nazarene University admitted a little more than half of applicants in the reported entering-class pool. That rate is below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so its reported admissions outcome was less open than that peer midpoint.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
55.9%
Approximate lower endpoint
950
Reported average
1117
Approximate upper endpoint
1220

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 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

What are the largest majors at Olivet Nazarene University?[12]

Nursing has the highest median earnings among the listed fields, at $84,705 four years after completion, alongside 87 degrees awarded in one academic year. Engineering is also at the higher-earning end, with median earnings of $82,632 and 51 degrees awarded.

Azimuth’s figures place both fields well above the more moderate results elsewhere in the displayed programs. Accounting recorded median earnings of $77,132 four years after completion and 9 degrees awarded.

Psychology had median earnings of $49,427 with 36 degrees awarded. The contrast between these fields shows that program-level earnings vary considerably across the university’s larger and higher-earning offerings.

Program choice matters at Olivet Nazarene University: its largest degree fields show markedly different earnings four years after completion. The listed large fields span a broad reported earnings range, so the overall earnings figure does not describe every field equally.

Olivet Nazarene University awards bachelor's degrees across 15 programs with published four-year earnings data. The program mix is balanced, with Business and Health Professions nearly tied at 14.8% and 14.7% of degrees awarded, respectively, and Education accounting for another 10.7%.

The largest single programs are Nursing at 87 degrees awarded, Business Administration and Management at 59, and Engineering at 51. Nursing is both the largest program and the highest-earning, with a median of $84,705 four years after completion.

Engineering is the second highest-earning at $82,632. A much smaller program, Accounting, reports median earnings of $77,132 from 9 degrees awarded, and its graduates earn above the national median for the field.

Economics and Biology round out the top five earners at $68,935 and $58,864, respectively. Across all fields, 17.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

The earnings pattern is concentrated: the largest program is also the highest-earning, and the highest-earning programs sit in health, engineering, and business. The largest programs outside those fields, Psychology and Teacher Education, report medians below the top earners four years out.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 87 degrees awarded
$84,705
Business Administration, Management and Operations 59 degrees awarded
$57,973
Engineering, General 51 degrees awarded
$82,632
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods 36 degrees awarded
$45,455
Psychology, General 36 degrees awarded
$49,427
Communication and Media Studies 34 degrees awarded
$42,321

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 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

How does Olivet Nazarene University serve students from different backgrounds?

At Olivet Nazarene University, access is the strongest measured pillar, but mobility presents a less favorable picture. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 60.8%; Pell recipients in that cohort complete within six years at 50.0%, below the overall rate by 10.8 percentage points.

Azimuth puts the mobility pillar in the 17th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings-beyond-expectations measure, which compares graduate earnings with the model's expectation for similar students, is in the 52nd percentile.

Graduates earn about $825 less than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. Completion is weaker, while modeled earnings sit effectively at the expected level.

Olivet Nazarene University offers an accessible entry point, admitting 55.9% of applicants. Azimuth places its access pillar in the 78th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Undergraduate enrollment is 2,603 undergraduates; 38.0% receive Pell Grants, and an estimated 15.2% enter as transfers or part-time students. Admission, Pell participation, and transfer entry all describe a campus with several routes into undergraduate study.

06 / Olivet Nazarene University briefing

What colleges are similar to Olivet Nazarene 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 Olivet Nazarene University.

Admissions peerUniversity of St Francis65.3% admitted
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversityUniversity of St Francis
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$75,229+$10,460 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$13,006-$7,723 vs Olivet Nazarene University · lower cost
Admission rate55.9%65.3%
Explore University of St Francis →
Higher-admission alternativeAurora University80.9% admitted
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversityAurora University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$64,521-$248 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$18,838-$1,891 vs Olivet Nazarene University · lower cost
Admission rate55.9%80.9%
Explore Aurora University →
Nearby alternativeAurora UniversityNearby option · IL
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversityAurora University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$64,521-$248 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$18,838-$1,891 vs Olivet Nazarene University · lower cost
Admission rate55.9%80.9%
Explore Aurora University →
Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst$78,620 earnings
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversityUniversity of Massachusetts-Amherst
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$78,620+$13,851 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$22,383+$1,654 vs Olivet Nazarene University · higher cost
Admission rate55.9%59.7%
Explore University of Massachusetts-Amherst →
Lower-cost alternativeSaint Xavier University$10,970 average net price
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversitySaint Xavier University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$66,961+$2,192 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$10,970-$9,759 vs Olivet Nazarene University · lower cost
Admission rate55.9%84.3%
Explore Saint Xavier University →
Similar profileDrake UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with Olivet Nazarene University
MeasureOlivet Nazarene UniversityDrake University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,769$65,232+$463 vs Olivet Nazarene University
Average annual net price$20,729$29,127+$8,398 vs Olivet Nazarene University · higher cost
Admission rate55.9%63.9%
Explore Drake 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