Payback
EarningsPlus
Economic score
Columbia College Chicago is a private regional university located in Chicago, Illinois. Columbia College Chicago is very inclusive in their admissions.
Return on educational investment at Columbia College Chicago is in the bottom 25% of all ranked schools. The median student earns $41,679 10 years after enrolling, 52nd in Illinois, and in the bottom 25% nationally. When adjusted for earning differences by major, Columbia College Chicago bachelor students earn 5% less than the national average. Columbia College Chicago is ranked 50th in Illinois.
Columbia College Chicago’s median net annual cost of $26,258 and average years to graduate of 4.3 are reported only at the school level. We assume these same costs and graduation time for all programs.
The top 6 programs at Columbia College Chicago sorted by number of graduates - Design & Applied Arts, FIlm, Video & Photography, Drama, Graphic Comms, Arts, Entertainment & Media, Broadcast & Digital Comms - are shown below. To see more programs, click on "see additional programs".
Annual net cost
$26,258
Average years to graduate
4.3
Sign language
Rank: #10
Economic score: 7.96
Marketing
Rank: #368
Economic score: 8.35
Journalism
Rank: #115
Economic score: 9.86
Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians
Rank: #6
Economic score: 10.35
Advertising & PR
Rank: #130
Economic score: 11.59
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other
Rank: #98
Economic score: 15.66
Music
Rank: #134
Economic score: 44.68
Fine & Studio Arts
Rank: #280
Economic score: 51.31
Rhetoric & Composition
Rank: #74
Economic score: 63.1
Dance
Rank: #33
Economic score: 414.93
EarningPlus compares the three-year post graduate earnings to the median earnings of the same graduating class, with the same graduate degree. These 2 metrics, debt-to-earnings and EarningsPlus, are combined into an economic score. The lower the economic score the better.
The most popular 4 graduate programs at Columbia College Chicago - Rhetoric & Composition, FIlm, Video & Photography, Arts, Entertainment & Media, Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education. - are shown below.
When a school's graduation rate falls in the bottom 25% in the country, we do not display an economic ranking.
The average full-time graduate completes their degree in 4.3 years. 56% of all students graduate within 8 years including part-time students. The graduation rate at Columbia College Chicago is 9% lower than the state average, and 2% below the average for all regional universities in the country.
At Columbia College Chicago, Pell Grant recipients represent 41% of the measured graduating class, 6% higher than the national average of 35%. The average Pell Grant recipient at Columbia College Chicago graduates within 4.3 years.
Columbia College Chicago is in the top 50% of schools for graduating Pell recipients.
We calculate this performance by adjusting the graduation rate of Pell students by their percentage of the student body. This adjustment is made to prevent schools with large numbers of Pell students from underperforming in comparison to schools with few Pell students but high graduation rates.
Columbia College Chicago’s economic mobility score of 6.87 is calculated by adjusting the 8.18 economic score of lower-income students by the 41% pell grant recipients within the student body. Columbia College Chicago’s EMS of 6.87 ranks in the bottom 10% nationally.false
Economic Mobility
To calculate economic mobility of low-income (household earnings below $30,000) students, we adjust each institution’s economic score by their percentage of Pell Grant students. The logic of this Pell-adjusted calculation is derived from Third Way’s Economic Mobility Index (EMI).
Bottom 10%
The average Title IV recipient at Columbia College Chicago pays $26,258 a year, $22,440 less than the $48,698 advertised. See below the cost breakdown for students who receive Title IV grants, broken down by income level.
Average net price
The average net price shown by income level for all students that receive Title IV aid. Calculated by deducting the average grant and scholarship aid from tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Limited to first-time, full-time students. Public institution figures are calculated using in-state tuition figures.
Median net price $26,258
Much of the gap between net price and sticker price is filled by institutional and government grants. At Columbia College Chicago, 99% of students receive some grants and scholarships, compared to the national average of 87% for all colleges and universities. The average amount of federal, state, and institutional grants that students receive is shown on the right.
This leaves a total of $26,258 on average to be covered by the student – be it through loans or out of pocket. In total, 94% of students take out loans, federal or private, at an average amount of $7,202. This is 40% more than the national average.
Federal grants
$6,068
Pell grants
$5,376
State grants
$5,374
Institutional grants
$15,018
Columbia College Chicago's very inclusive admissions are indicated by their 96% acceptance rate. In 2021, the school had 7,218 applicants, of which 6,903 were admitted and 1,696 enrolled. Columbia College Chicago has a rolling admissions policy, which means applications are reviewed as they arrive until all spaces are filled.
While Columbia College Chicago has a recommended testing policy, their average test scores are not made public.
Full time
95%
83%
Female
61%
59%
First time
71%
59%
In-state
54%
68%
1st generation
25%
35%
White
48%
52%
Black
15%
14%
Hispanic
23%
15%
Asian
4%
5%
American Indian
N/A
1.6%
Pacific Islander
N/A
0.3%
Other
9%
12%