Private (for-profit)

Illinois Media School

Chicago, Illinois·Private for-profit, less-than 2-year·Great Lakes·beonair.com/locations/ohare-il-campus
Acceptance
100.0%
—
6-yr Graduation
80%
—
Total enrollment
32
peer median 55
Avg net price
$27,238
+$1.6k vs peer
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsCampus safetyFacultyPeersCampusesDocuments

About

The Illinois Media School is a private institution located in Chicago, Illinois, that focuses on training students for various careers in the broadcast media industry. The school offers an 8-month program leading to a certification in Radio and Television Broadcasting, with a hands-on approach facilitated by industry professionals. It is part of a network of media schools including the Ohio Media School, Colorado Media School, and Miami Media School.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
29
29 candidates competed
Admitted
29
100.0% acceptance rate
Enrolled
23
79.3% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
80%
Full-time retention
67%

Pell equity

36.8pp gap
Pell recipients
93%26 of 28
Non-Pell (all)
56%9 of 16
Subsidized loan, no Pell
56%9 of 16

Pell recipients here graduate at a 36.8-point higher rate than non-Pell students, unusual and worth a closer look.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 6 Title IV programs, 0 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 6 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
6
Passing
0
0.0% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

6programs
  • Passing0 · 0.0%
  • No Data6 · 100.0%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
0
No data
6

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

3
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Undergraduate Certificate · Visual And Performing Arts
50%
$15,833 debt · $31,567 earn
Public Relations Advertising and Applied Communication
Undergraduate Certificate · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
36%
$15,833 debt · $44,556 earn
Radio Television and Digital Communication
Undergraduate Certificate · Communication, Journalism, And Related Programs
27%
$9,500 debt · $35,062 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

Accredited since 1993Next review Oct 2028

Action history · 2

  1. Dec 2023Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
  2. May 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$26,604
$30–48k$28,069
$48–75k$29,593
$75–110k—
$110k+—

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$27,238
+$1,579vs peer median $25,659
Federal loans
57.5%

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 310 students received $1.6M in Pell grants, alongside $2.1M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
310
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.6M
$1,578,714 total
Direct Loans
$2.1M
531 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
’20
0k
’21
0k
’22
0k
’23
0k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$792K
267 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$1.2M
257 loan awards
Parent PLUS$110K
7 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 389 borrowers who entered repayment, 18 (4.6%) defaulted within three years — above the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
4.6%
+2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
389
Defaulted
18
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
17.7%
2017
16.7%
2018
15.8%
2019
4.6%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Illinois Media School

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs4
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
32
12-mo unduplicated
151
Undergraduate
151
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
66%99
Women
34%52

Race / ethnicity composition

Black
37.5%
White
34.4%
Hispanic
18.8%
Two or more
9.4%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 36 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.001 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
0
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs00
    Liquor00

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    IPEDS
    Student-to-faculty
    7.0:1

    Illinois Media School vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Illinois Media School selected for federal comparison reporting.

    IPEDS
    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectIllinois Media School
    		80%100.0%32$27,238—
    Colorado Media School
    		—100.0%38$30,514—
    Conservatory of Recording Arts and Sciences
    		——692$22,990—
    Florida Institute of Recording Sound and Technology
    		——757——
    Hollywood Cultural College
    		——38$11,146—
    Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus
    		—100.0%66$26,435—
    Ohio Media School-Cincinnati
    		—100.0%42$25,659—
    Ohio Media School-Columbus
    		—100.0%43$24,913—
    Ohio Media School-Valley View
    		—100.0%88$24,111—
    Omega Studios' School of Applied Recording Arts & Sciences
    		——82$56,871—
    Peer group median80%100.0%55$25,659

    Institutions like Illinois Media School

    Explore the federal data for institutions in Illinois Media School's comparison group.

    IPEDS

    Campuses

    The 1 campus that make up Illinois Media School.

    IPEDS

    Reports & documents (1)

    Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

    Frequently asked questions about Illinois Media School

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Illinois Media School.

    What is the acceptance rate at Illinois Media School?

    Illinois Media School's acceptance rate is 100.0% (29 admitted from 29 applicants), based on the latest IPEDS.

    What is the graduation rate at Illinois Media School?

    Illinois Media School reports a 6-year graduation rate of 80% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Illinois Media School?

    Illinois Media School reports a total enrollment of 32 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Illinois Media School?

    The average net price at Illinois Media School is $27,238 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Illinois Media School?

    Illinois Media School's yield rate is 79.3%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Illinois Media School located?

    Illinois Media School is located in Chicago, Illinois 60631.

    About the data on this page

    Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

    IPEDS2025 provisional data (Fall 2025–26 release, July 28, 2026)
    Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
    National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
    College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
    Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
    U.S. Department of Education
    FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
    Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
    U.S. Department of Education
    DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
    Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Federal Pell Grant volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Pell Grant recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursements by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Federal student loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
    Federal Direct Loan recipient counts and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
    Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
    U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
    Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
    Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
    Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
    U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
    Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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