Doctoral/ProfessionalPrivate nonprofitHSI

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Great Lakes·nl.edu
6-yr Graduation
30%
-23.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
Total enrollment
8,915
peer median 4,529
Avg net price
$16,157
-$3.4k vs Doctoral/Professional
Use this data
Ask Clema

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

Applied
4,063
4,063 candidates competed
Admitted
3,862
95.1% acceptance rate
Enrolled
711
18.4% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

Overall completion
30%-23.0pp vs Doctoral/Professional
4-year graduation
24%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
30%
Full-time retention
50%

Pell equity

29.0pp gap
Pell recipients
29%
Non-Pell
0%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

Program outcomes

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

Of 72 Title IV programs, 23 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 49 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
72
Passing
23
31.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

72programs
  • Passing23 · 31.9%
  • No Data49 · 68.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
3
Safe
20
No data
49

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.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

23
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
+13.1%
$55,948 vs $49,483
Psychology General
Master's Degree · Psychology
+15.7%
$56,286 vs $48,653
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+21.9%
$59,315 vs $48,653
Human Resources Management and Services
Master's Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+25.7%
$79,490 vs $63,250
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+26.4%
$78,175 vs $61,854
Human Development Family Studies and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
+30.4%
$45,388 vs $34,808
Culinary Arts and Related Services
Associate Degree · Personal And Culinary Services
+31.0%
$45,609 vs $34,808
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
+33.3%
$46,398 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

22
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Doctoral Degree · Psychology
100%
$80,690 debt · $80,648 earn
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
99%
$58,584 debt · $59,315 earn
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies
Master's Degree · English Language And Literature/Letters
79%
$44,000 debt · $55,948 earn
Teacher Education and Professional Development Specific Levels and Methods
Bachelor Degree · Education
77%
$35,500 debt · $46,398 earn
Psychology General
Master's Degree · Psychology
73%
$41,000 debt · $56,286 earn
Human Development Family Studies and Related Services
Bachelor Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
67%
$30,545 debt · $45,388 earn
Special Education and Teaching
Master's Degree · Education
63%
$41,000 debt · $65,083 earn
Human Development Family Studies and Related Services
Master's Degree · Family And Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
61%
$36,906 debt · $61,024 earn

Accreditation status & history

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

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Higher Learning Commission

Accredited since 1946Next review Aug 2032

Programmatic accreditations · 2

Action history · 2

  1. Mar 2022Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission
  2. Dec 2012Renewal of Accreditation
    Higher Learning Commission

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$15,357
$30–48k$14,584
$48–75k$17,887
$75–110k$21,414
$110k+$25,279

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

Avg net price (private)
$16,157
-$3,415vs Doctoral/Professional median $19,572
Federal loans
47.1%
In-state tuition
$12,345
Out-of-state
$12,345

Federal aid volume & trends

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

In AY 2024–25, 3,359 students received $17.0M in Pell grants, alongside $53.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
3,359
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$17.0M
$16,971,424 total
Direct Loans
$53.2M
5,603 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

3k
20
3k
21
3k
22
3k
23
3k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$5.6M
1,508 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$6.5M
1,375 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$36.2M
2,381 loan awards
Parent PLUS$1.2M
81 loan awards
Grad PLUS$3.6M
258 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.

Of 1,801 borrowers who entered repayment, 28 (1.5%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.5%
-0.8pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
1,801
Defaulted
28
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
6.6%
2017
6.8%
2018
5.1%
2019
1.5%
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 National Louis

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs63
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

1,886 total completions
01Education
99452.7%
02Psychology
30116.0%
03Business
1769.3%
04Personal/Culinary
794.2%
05Family/Consumer Sci
774.1%
06Multi/Interdisciplinary
713.8%
07Public Admin
522.8%
08Computer Sciences
522.8%
09Social Sciences
492.6%
10Health Professions
351.9%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

Fall total
8,915
12-mo unduplicated
12,807
Undergraduate
6,921
Graduate
5,886

Gender split

Men
24%3,055
Women
76%9,752

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
51.2%
Black
21.4%
White
14.7%
Non-resident
5.0%
Unknown
3.3%
Asian
2.6%
Two or more
1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.1%

Campus safety & crime statistics

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

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 7,525 students

3-year trend

1.352 yrs ago1.501 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
21
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
4
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
1

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    1
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    1 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

    • University Center1 fire
      Open flamesDamage $0-$99

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    Student-to-faculty
    17.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    199

    National Louis vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions National Louis selected for federal comparison reporting.

    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
    SubjectNational Louis University
    30%8,915$16,157Doctoral/Professional
    Aurora University
    60%80.9%5,923$18,992Doctoral/Professional
    Bradley University
    76%76.8%4,777$23,572Doctoral/Professional
    University of St Francis
    67%65.3%3,074$16,284Doctoral/Professional
    Roosevelt University
    46%97.2%4,281$20,152Doctoral/Professional
    Trinity International University-Illinois
    46%100.0%869$21,386Doctoral/Professional
    Peer group median53%80.9%4,529$19,572

    Frequently asked questions about National Louis University

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about National Louis.

    What is the graduation rate at National Louis University?

    National Louis University reports a 6-year graduation rate of 30% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend National Louis University?

    National Louis University reports a total enrollment of 8,915 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at National Louis University?

    The average net price at National Louis University is $16,157 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at National Louis University?

    National Louis University's yield rate is 18.4%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is National Louis University located?

    National Louis University is located in Chicago, Illinois 60603.

    Have a question this page can’t answer?

    Ask Clema anything about National Louis University and its peers — plain language in, cited answers out, in minutes instead of days.

    Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card