College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of St Francis

ILSmall private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #331 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of St Francis #331 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of St Francis is a private nonprofit university in Joliet, Illinois, where the largest program family is Health Professions. Return is well above average, and the university is a fit for a student who wants a health-professions focus with earnings that outpace what expects.

Graduates out-earn what the model predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to the factors it measures — field of study, enrollment and the local labor market — than to what it cannot explain.

Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study, so the four-year earnings picture captures the majority of completers. Affordability is well above average, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is modest.

Pell students complete below the overall rate, though mobility is modestly below average. The admission rate sits below the median for comparable institutions, and the degree mix is concentrated.

A student drawn to the largest programs should know that the best-paid ones are not always the biggest.

University of St Francis at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.3%
Six-year completion[2]
66.8%
Four-year earnings[3]
$75,229

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$10,749
Median student debt[4]
$21,079
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$24,148

University of St Francis rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of St Francis is a private nonprofit university in Joliet, Illinois, enrolling 1,223 undergraduates. Its composite rank places it in the upper middle of nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university admits 65.3% of applicants, a rate that is lower than the 75.7% median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Once enrolled, 78.8% of full-time first-year students return, which is above the peer median of 74.2%.

The six-year graduation rate is 66.8%, also above the peer median of 54.9%. An estimated 45.1% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students. The four are spread out.

Return is the strongest (85th percentile) and mobility is the weakest (45th percentile). Affordability and access sit between them, with affordability at the 79th percentile and access at the 52nd percentile.

Return and affordability are the strongest pillars for University of St Francis. Azimuth ranks University of St Francis #331 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Return is the strongest pillar, at the 85th percentile, and affordability is close behind at the 79th percentile. Access sits at the 52nd percentile, and mobility is the weakest of the four at the 45th percentile.

Pell Grants go to 39.3% of undergraduates at University of St Francis. The middle 50% of submitted SAT scores run from 1,030 to 1,220.

Submitted ACT scores range from 20 to 32. Azimuth places University of St Francis at #700 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Among Pell recipients, 61.5% finish within six years, 5.3 percentage points under the rate for the entering cohort as a whole (66.8%). For mobility, Azimuth ranks University of St Francis #812 among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

University of St Francis rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#331
Illinois#15
Midwest#53

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 45
Access & reach
National percentile: 52
Affordability
National percentile: 79
Return on investment
National percentile: 85

Top-ranked majors

  1. Health and Medical Administrative Services#5
  2. Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing#179
  3. Biology, General#243

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / University of St Francis briefing

University of St Francis cost & financial aid[6][7]

The published cost of attendance at University of St Francis is $46,239 (an average). That figure includes $38,110 in tuition and fees and $11,980 for room and board.

For the average aid recipient, grants and scholarships reduce that sticker by $33,233, bringing the average net price to $13,006. The sits $9,341 below the $22,347 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #293 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the affordability pillar in the 79th percentile.

The published cost of attendance at University of St Francis is $46,239 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the university #293 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $8,547, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $10,749, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $20,192. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,645.

Aid covers about 72% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $13,006, which is $9,341 below the peer median of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $21,079 in federal student loans. That is $3,921 below the median of $25,000 at comparable institutions.

95.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $24,148.

If repaid over ten years, the median student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $240 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$10,749

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at University of St Francis

Nearly every undergraduate at University of St Francis borrows: 95.0% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who complete, the median federal student debt is $21,079.

That median is $3,921 below the $25,000 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $24,148.

Federally aided graduates of University of St Francis who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $75,229 four years after completion. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, that median is at the 84th percentile.

The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $55,915, putting the median $19,314 above that benchmark. Graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students.

That places the outcome at the 85th percentile. The program mix supports earnings scenarios from $49,688 on the downside to $89,018 on the upside, with a typical estimate of $75,229.

The median federal debt for borrowers who finish is $21,079, which is $3,921 below the $25,000 peer median. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $240 a month.

Earnings land above the peer median and the model's expectation, and debt lands below the peer median; both measures point the same way.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $24,148. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $240 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
$21,079
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$24,148

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$240/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$307/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 / University of St Francis briefing

University of St Francis career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $75,229. That places the university in the 84th percentile nationally and $19,314 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 85th percentile, and Azimuth ranks the return pillar at the 85th 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 $7,088. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,875. Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $292.

University of St Francis posts a median of $75,229 for federally aided graduates four years after completion, based on a cohort of 810 completers. That is $19,314 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and Azimuth places the figure in the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students. The gap sits at the 85th percentile.

Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix put the typical outcome at $75,229, with a downside of $49,688 and an upside of $89,018. An estimated 29.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The median salary four years after completion is $75,229 for federally aided graduates of University of St Francis who are working and not enrolled. That level sits at the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That median is $19,314 above the $55,915 figure reported by comparable institutions (same type and size) in the current release. Azimuth ranks University of St Francis #217 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome falls at the 85th percentile for earnings beyond expectations 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 $7,088. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $3,875.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component subtracts $292. The university concentrates its bachelor's degrees in Health Professions and Business, with Biological Sciences as the third largest field.

Estimated from the program mix, the downside earnings scenario is $49,688 and the upside scenario is $89,018. An estimated 29.6% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix.

The earnings scenarios point to a wide range: from $49,688 on the downside to $89,018 on the upside. These are scenarios estimated from the program mix, not observed groups of graduates.

At the top of that range, Human Resources Management and Services graduates earn a median of $90,495 four years after completion, from 16 degrees awarded. The largest program, Nursing, reports $87,383 from 127 degrees awarded. Psychology graduates earn $42,474 four years after completion.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,079 in federal student loans, which is $3,921 below the $25,000 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $240 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $24,148 in Parent PLUS loans. The earnings picture is strong: graduates earn about $10,963 more than the model expects for similar students, and the median earnings figure sits well above the median for comparable institutions.

Combined with a debt level that runs below the peer median, the return on investment is the strongest of University of St Francis's four pillars.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$7,088
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$3,875
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$10,963

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 / University of St Francis briefing

University of St Francis acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

University of St Francis is a private nonprofit university that admits 65.3% of applicants. For context, the median admission rate among comparable institutions (same type and size) is 75.7%.

SAT: approximate enrolled-student range
Admission rate
65.3%
Approximate lower endpoint
1030
Reported average
1141
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 / University of St Francis briefing

What are the largest majors at University of St Francis?[12]

The single highest-earning program at University of St Francis is small. Human Resources Management and Services graduates report the top median, at $90,495 four years after completion, from 16 degrees awarded a year.

The dominant program is Nursing, with 127 degrees awarded and median earnings of $87,383. Azimuth ranks it #179 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field.

Further down the earnings scale, Psychology awards 26 degrees a year and shows a median of $42,474. Biology sits between the two, with 28 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,363.

Health Professions accounts for 51.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Business second at 16.3%. The university has 4 nationally ranked program.

Nursing is the largest single program at 127 degrees a year. Azimuth ranks it #179 within its field and #3 in Illinois.

The highest-earning program is Human Resources Management and Services, at $90,495 from 16 degrees a year. Health and Medical Administrative Services awards 67 degrees and its graduates earn $79,421, above the national median for the field.

University of St Francis awards more than half of its bachelor's degrees in Health Professions, at 51.2% of the total. Business is the next largest family at 16.3%, followed by Biological Sciences at 6.8%.

The university has 4 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 11 with published four-year earnings data. The largest program is Nursing, with 127 degrees awarded a year and median earnings of $87,383 four years after completion.

Azimuth ranks it #179 nationally within its field and #3 in Illinois. Health and Medical Administrative Services is the second-largest program, at 67 degrees awarded, and it is the university's highest-ranked program nationally.

Health and Medical Administrative Services ranks #1 in Illinois within its field, with median earnings of $79,421 four years after completion. Its earnings are a benchmark ratio of 1.35x against the national median for its field.

The highest-earning program is Human Resources Management and Services, where graduates earn $90,495 four years out, from 16 degrees awarded a year. Strength is concentrated in health professions, where the two largest programs sit.

Nursing and Health and Medical Administrative Services together account for most of the degrees awarded. Across all fields, 8.3% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing 127 degrees awarded
$87,383
Health and Medical Administrative Services 67 degrees awarded
$79,421
Biology, General 28 degrees awarded
$58,363
Psychology, General 26 degrees awarded
$42,474
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods 17 degrees awarded
$68,599
Marketing 17 degrees awarded
$61,119

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 / University of St Francis briefing

What colleges are similar to University of St Francis?[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 University of St Francis.

Admissions peerNorth Park University68.5% admitted
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisNorth Park University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$65,399-$9,830 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$16,948+$3,942 vs University of St Francis · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%68.5%
Higher-admission alternativeValparaiso University89.4% admitted
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisValparaiso University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$69,228-$6,001 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$18,578+$5,572 vs University of St Francis · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%89.4%
Explore Valparaiso University →
Nearby alternativeSaint Mary's CollegeNearby option · IN
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisSaint Mary's College
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$69,406-$5,823 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$25,292+$12,286 vs University of St Francis · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%76.0%
Explore Saint Mary's College →
Higher-earnings alternativeHoly Family University$82,892 earnings
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisHoly Family University
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$82,892+$7,663 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$13,143+$137 vs University of St Francis · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%71.0%
Explore Holy Family University →
Lower-cost alternativePurdue University Northwest$6,079 average net price
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisPurdue University Northwest
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$73,337-$1,892 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$6,079-$6,927 vs University of St Francis · lower cost
Admission rate65.3%72.4%
Explore Purdue University Northwest →
Similar profileConcordia University-ChicagoMatched across several measures
Comparison with University of St Francis
MeasureUniversity of St FrancisConcordia University-Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$75,229$71,699-$3,530 vs University of St Francis
Average annual net price$13,006$18,436+$5,430 vs University of St Francis · higher cost
Admission rate65.3%92.8%

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