Governors State University
University Park, IL
Governors State University is a public university in University Park, Illinois, a suburb of a large city, with 2,556 undergraduates. Liberal arts and criminal justice are its signature fields: together they make up 22% of its bachelor's degrees, about six times their share across the colleges we cover. 22% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $58,169 ten years after starting.
Governors State University admitted 1,072 of 1,865 applicants for the fall 2022 entering class (57.5%).
- Acceptance rate
- 57.5%
- Fall 2022 class
- Tuition and fees
- $12,004
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $12,329
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- Reading 420–540 · Math 410–520
Every figure on this page is published by the college or a federal survey, compiled by GoodGoblin, and carries the source it came from. They describe the fall 2022 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What Governors State University is known for
Measured by the 626 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Liberal arts
14.2%
of its bachelor's degrees: about nine times the 1.6% share across the colleges we cover.
Criminal justice
8.0%
of its bachelor's degrees: three and a half times the 2.2% share across the colleges we cover.
- Business Administration, Management and Operations9615.3% of degrees$59,562−13% vs $68,257 nationally
- Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities8914.2% of degrees$50,703About the $53,072 national median
- Psychology8413.4% of degrees$47,048−7% vs $50,706 nationally
- Criminal Justice and Corrections508.0% of degrees$55,811About the $55,378 national median
- Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods447.0% of degrees$46,895About the $47,382 national median
- Accounting and Related Services406.4% of degrees$61,223−20% vs $76,194 nationally
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), field-of-study data. Degrees are bachelor's degrees awarded in 2022–23. Earnings are the median for 2017–18 and 2018–19 graduates, in 2024 dollars, working and not enrolled, four years after graduating. Shares across the colleges we cover count every bachelor's degree at the colleges with a page here.
The place
Where it is, how big it is, and how students live.
Setting
Suburb of a large city
University Park, IL
Undergraduates
2,556
Fall 2024
Type
Public
Master's university, larger programs
Living on campus
Under a quarter
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
11 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
2%
of undergraduates, fall 2024
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education), including the Carnegie Classification and the federal locale code it publishes.
What stands out at Governors State University
Three things Governors State University published, ranked by how much each could change what you actually do, not by how impressive it looks. Every one describes a class that has already enrolled.
The admit rate rose from 38% to 57% between fall 2018 and fall 2022.
Both ends are measured rates for classes that have already enrolled: a rate that moved, not a forecast. The fall 2022 figure is the one at the top of this page.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2018 to fall 2022
4% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 1% sent an ACT. Governors State University files test scores under “considered”.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Families paid $12,329 on average after aid.
Averaged across students who received federal aid: the price after grants and scholarships, not the sticker price.
Source: the College Scorecard
Every figure, in full
The same measured fields on every one of these pages. Nothing is filled in where the school published nothing.
Acceptance rate
57.5%
1,072 admitted of 1,865 applicants
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
SAT, middle 50%
Reading 420–540Math 410–520
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
4%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
1%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Where do you actually stand at Governors State University?
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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What Governors State University costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $12,004, and the full in-state cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $24,227. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $12,329 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$12,004
2024–25 school year
Full cost, in state
$24,227
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$12,329
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $24,227 full cost.
- Under $30k$9,563Typical public university: $10,013
- $30k–$48k$10,933Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$11,705Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$16,741Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$22,076Typical public university: $22,475
Source: the federal College Scorecard. Tuition and cost of attendance are for the 2024–25 school year; colleges usually raise them each year. What students paid is the average net price for first-year students who received federal financial aid. Typical public university: the median across the 338 public universities on GoodGoblin, for in-state students, compiled by GoodGoblin from the same federal data.
Where it leads
Who finishes, who stays, and what they earn and owe afterwards.
Finish within six years
22%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
56%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$58,169
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$18,618
Our colleges' median: $23,725
Source: the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education). Six-year completion describes students who started in fall 2018; second-year return describes students who started in fall 2023; earnings describe students who started in 2009–10 and 2010–11, measured in 2020 and 2021, in 2022 dollars; debt describes federal loans of students who graduated in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. Medians are across the 1,034 colleges with a page here.
How the rate has moved
Two measured admit rates from the federal survey, the years apart it reports them. A rate that moved, not a forecast.
Between fall 2018 and fall 2022 the admit rate rose from 38% to 57%.
What Governors State University says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Course rigorrequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
- GPArequired
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Not considered
- Essay
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
- Recommendations
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
- Class rank
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
- Legacy
Source: the federal IPEDS survey, fall 2022
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
- Early ActionNovember 15, 2026
Verified October 10, 2026 · Source
- Rolling AdmissionJuly 31, 2027
More colleges on the record
Each of these pages carries the same measured figures and sources.
Other colleges in Illinois
Closest acceptance rates in the same state.
- Rockford University57.2%
- North Central College58.3%
- Lake Forest College59.4%
- Illinois Institute of Technology55.4%
Colleges with a similar acceptance rate
Closest acceptance rates anywhere in the country.
The GoodGoblin College Data Report: five findings counted across 1,034 colleges ›
Build the list this school belongs on.
The figures on this page describe a class that already enrolled. GoodGoblin reads them against your own transcript, scores, activities and budget, then builds the balanced list, the essay plan and the deadline calendar around what it finds.
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