University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, a large city, with 7,569 undergraduates. Social sciences and mathematics are its signature fields: together they make up 46% of its bachelor's degrees, about five times their share across the colleges we cover. 96% of students finish within six years, and former students who are working earn a median of $91,885 ten years after starting.
University of Chicago admitted 1,955 of 43,612 applicants for the fall 2024 entering class (4.5%).
- Acceptance rate
- 4.5%
- Fall 2024 class
- Tuition and fees
- $70,662
- 2024–25 school year
- Paid after aid
- $14,860
- Average, students with aid
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1510–1560
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 2024 entering class, a read on the school, not a prediction about any one applicant.
What University of Chicago is known for
Measured by the 2,353 bachelor's degrees it awarded in 2022–23, and what its graduates went on to earn.
Social sciences
36.0%
of its bachelor's degrees: about five times the 8.0% share across the colleges we cover.
Mathematics
9.7%
of its bachelor's degrees: about six times the 1.7% share across the colleges we cover.
- Economics62226.4% of degrees$159,578+93% vs $82,686 nationally
- Mathematics1817.7% of degrees$172,826+148% vs $69,562 nationally
- Computer Science1566.6% of degrees$178,068+66% vs $107,009 nationally
- Biology1275.4% of degrees$59,794+5% vs $57,214 nationally
- Political Science and Government1114.7% of degrees$87,869+39% vs $63,293 nationally
- Research and Experimental Psychology994.2% of degrees$73,483+32% vs $55,695 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
Large city
Chicago, IL
Undergraduates
7,569
Fall 2024
Type
Private, nonprofit
Doctoral university, very high research activity
Living on campus
Half or more
of undergraduates live on campus
Students per faculty member
5 to 1
Fall 2024
International students
18%
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 University of Chicago
Three things University of Chicago 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.
University of Chicago files the essay under “very important”.
That is the top of the scale the form offers, and the only other factors this school puts there are Course rigor and Recommendations.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
49% of the enrolled class sent an SAT.
The SAT band on this page describes that share of the class, not all of it. Another 27% sent an ACT. University of Chicago files test scores under “considered”.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Families paid $14,860 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
4.5%
1,955 admitted of 43,612 applicants
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
SAT, middle 50%
1510–1560
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
ACT, middle 50%
34–35
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Average GPA of admitted students
4.97
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an SAT
49%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Enrolled students who sent an ACT
27%
Counted per test: a student may send both.
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Where do you actually stand at University of Chicago?
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.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
What University of Chicago costs
The published price first, then what students who received aid actually paid, by family income.
Tuition and fees for 2024–25 were $70,662, and the full cost of attendance, with housing, food and books, was $90,360. After grants and scholarships, students who received financial aid paid $14,860 a year on average.
Tuition and fees
$70,662
2024–25 school year
Full cost of attendance
$90,360
Tuition, fees, housing, food and books
Paid after aid
$14,860
Average, students who received aid
What students paid, by family income
Each bar is that figure as a share of the $90,360 full cost.
- $30k–$48k$914Typical public university: $10,847
- $48k–$75k$226Typical public university: $13,703
- $75k–$110k$12,602Typical public university: $17,979
- Over $110k$48,524Typical 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
96%
Our colleges' median: 63%
Return for a second year
99%
Our colleges' median: 79%
Earnings after 10 years
$91,885
Our colleges' median: $57,440
Median debt at graduation
$15,000
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.
What University of Chicago says it weighs
The school's own words, from the form it fills in every year. Ranked as it ranks them.
- Essayvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Course rigorvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Recommendationsvery important
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- GPAconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Test scoresconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
- Class rankconsidered
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Not considered
- Demonstrated interest
Source: their Common Data Set, fall 2024
Essays on this application
7 essay prompts on the application: you would write 2.
Published deadlines
Each date is read from the college's own materials and re-checked on a schedule.
Guides for University of Chicago applicants
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.
- Northwestern University7.7%
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign36.6%
- Chicago State University40.5%
- Principia College44.4%
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.
See where I stand ›3 days free · $0 today · cancel anytime
