Aurora University, in Illinois, is a private nonprofit university where 42 out of every 100 undergraduate students identified as Hispanic or Latino in fall 2023. That is one of the highest proportions among selective private schools of its type that report this information. It is also a school that accepts 85 out of every 100 applicants and has an all-inclusive list price of $45,864 per year. Those are three big numbers. Not one of them, by itself, tells you whether this is the right school for your child. Together, along with what follows, they begin to draw a real picture.
I have helped many families do exactly this: take a university and truly understand it, without promises and without fear, before deciding whether it deserves a place on the list. That is what we are going to do here with Aurora University—with the data the federal government collects from the institution itself, not what its advertising says.
Who Aurora University Is and Where It Lives
Let’s start with the basics. The Carnegie system—which organizes the nation’s colleges and universities by what they do—classifies Aurora University among doctoral and professional universities. It is a medium-sized school and, according to the most recent data in that classification, primarily nonresidential: that means either fewer than one in four undergraduate students lived in institution-provided housing or fewer than half attended full time. The data do not say which of those two circumstances applied, nor do they say that there are no residence halls. They say only that the overall pattern is not that of a campus where nearly everyone sleeps there.
It is in Aurora, Illinois, in Kane County, within the Chicago metropolitan area. But its census code places it in a suburb, not in the heart of the city. If your child plans to live at home and commute, my recommendation is simple: drive the route yourself on a weekday at the exact time of your child’s classes. The real travel time is almost never what the map promises.
It is a private, nonprofit, four-year institution, and the highest credential level it reports offering is the doctorate. That is an institutional fact, not a promise about your child’s specific major: it does not tell you whether that program exists here or whether it connects to a graduate program. That must be verified program by program.
And there is something worth stating clearly: Aurora University is not listed as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Those are three distinct designations with different histories, and it has none of them. That says nothing about which communities it serves today or how your child will feel on that campus. Ask directly: what cultural centers exist, what student organizations are active, and—if you can—talk with someone who already attends.
One more fact for someone coming from another college: Carnegie places Aurora among institutions that receive more transfer students. If your child plans to arrive that way, ask in writing, before enrolling, which courses will be accepted and which will not. The label does not say how many credits will survive the transfer.
How Many Students There Are and Who They Are
In the most recent official count, Aurora University had 5,935 students enrolled. It is neither a small school nor a huge one; it falls within the 5,000-to-9,999 range, on the larger side compared with its selective private peers. But that number hides something important: 4,098 are undergraduate students and 1,837 are graduate students. If your child is just beginning a bachelor’s degree, the number that truly matters is 4,098, not the total. A substantial part of this school consists of people who have already completed a bachelor’s degree and returned for more.
As for who shares the classroom with your child: among undergraduate students, there are more women than men—67 out of every 100—and students ages 25 to 64 are a minority, just 14 out of every 100. Most first-time students, 86 out of every 100, came with an Illinois address. And, as we already said, 42 out of every 100 identified as Hispanic or Latino, one of the highest proportions among the school’s peers.
Here I want to be honest with you about what that number does and does not mean. Having many Latino students is not the same as having designed specific support for Latino students. The data count how many there are; they do not say whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, targeted tutoring, or whether those students complete their degrees at the same rate as everyone else. And this is the percentage for the entire school, not for the particular major that interests your child. Counting is not the same as serving. Investigate both separately.
How Academics Work
The year at Aurora University is organized into semesters: two long terms of about fifteen weeks each. It is the standard calendar, with consistent dates for everyone.
The school reports accepting credit from AP exams as well as what IPEDS calls “credit for life experience”—learning from independent study, work, a portfolio, previous licenses, or military experience. Reporting that it accepts such credit does not mean your child will receive it automatically. Ask for the transfer-credit evaluation in writing before enrolling, and do not calculate any savings until you have it in hand.
As for what students study there: between July 2022 and June 2023, the school awarded 1,209 bachelor’s degrees across 22 families of majors. Health professions produced the most graduates, accounting for 25 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year—the largest share, but not one that crowded out everything else. The range of offerings is broad, neither concentrated in a single field nor spread infinitely thin. Even so, those 22 families are not 22 individual majors: one family groups several programs, and a row may report no degrees for that year. Verify the exact program that interests your child.
Regarding class size, the reported ratio is 18 students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member. Broadly speaking, that is a middle-range figure, but it is among the highest for schools of the same type. A necessary clarification: this ratio does not tell you the actual size of a class. It is an institution-wide average, not a measure of how many students will be sitting in your child’s classroom on a Tuesday morning.
Aurora University also reports structured opportunities worth knowing about: study abroad, undergraduate research outside the classroom, a complete program that can be taken only at night or on weekends, and pathways to teacher certification, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
How to Get In
Aurora University does not have open admission: it reviews specific components before saying yes. Of nine possible considerations, it marks three as required: high school GPA, completion of the college-preparatory course requirements specified by the university, and the English proficiency exam for applicants. The personal essay, letters of recommendation, complete high school record, and work experience are not required, but they are considered if submitted.
If your child studied outside the United States or attended high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English exam applies and what would qualify your child for an exemption. This is the kind of thing families discover late, when there is no longer enough comfortable time to resolve it.
The published application fee is $0.
And here comes a number that changes the conversation: out of every 100 people who applied during the 2023 cycle, 85 received an offer of admission. Compared with its selective private peers, this is one of the universities that does say yes. But a likely admission does not make what comes next easy. That 85 does not say how much it will cost, how many students complete their degrees, or whether your child’s specific program has a separate screening process. Always ask those questions separately.
Here is something that I find among the most revealing facts in the entire record: out of every 100 admitted students, only 18 enrolled. The other 82 had an acceptance in hand and did not take it. Do not read that as a mark against the school—the federal record does not say why each person made that decision, and it is a typical percentage among similar schools. But I will tell you what it means for you: what other people decided tells you nothing about what your child will be offered. Wait for your own letter, with your own net price, before drawing any conclusions about this school.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required here. Only 7 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted an SAT score, one of the lowest submission rates among the school’s peers. Among those who did submit one, the middle half scored between 470 and 583 in reading and writing and between 460 and 550 in math. That range describes students who had already enrolled and chose to submit their scores—it is not a minimum your child must reach or a guarantee of admission if your child reaches it.
Regarding transfers, in the fall 2023 count, 522 undergraduate students entered Aurora for the first time after studying at another institution. That is one of the highest counts among its peers, although the school’s size is also a factor. This report does not say how many credits were accepted for those 522. Ask the school directly.
What It Costs and What Students Actually Pay
At Aurora University, among 125 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $13,980. Among 113 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $16,984; among 171 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $25,042. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (125 students) and the average for the highest-income band (171 students) is $11,062. Among first-year students who received any grant, the average was $19,220.
Among the 937 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this information with the same time coverage, Aurora falls within the least expensive quarter for lower-income families after grants are subtracted. That does not mean it will be inexpensive for your family. It is a fact that carries weight when you build the list of schools to which your child will apply.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average after grants, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the financial aid letter sent to you. In the meantime, run the net price calculator on the school’s website.
How Students Pay: Grants and Loans
At Aurora University, 96 out of every 100 degree-seeking students received a grant or other aid that does not have to be repaid. Receiving something here is the norm, not the exception. Among those who received it, the average for the year was $16,704. And 44 out of every 100 received Pell Grants, the federal aid for low-income families.
Be careful not to read these numbers as a personal promise. They describe what happened with other students last year. Ask in writing which applications must be completed, what the deadlines are, and what happens to the grant if your child’s grades fall.
Regarding debt, 49 out of every 100 undergraduate students received a federal student loan that year—nearly half. Among those who borrowed, the annual average was $8,293. If your child borrowed a similar amount in each of the four years, the total would be around $33,172, not including interest. That number is decided before the first signature, not at the end of the journey.
And I want to be precise here, because this is where families get most confused: that average covers only federal loans in the student’s name. It does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, bank debt, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt with which someone graduates—to calculate that, you would have to add all four years, and that number is not in this report.
Aurora University also offers a prepaid tuition plan and an installment payment plan for those who prefer to spread the cost over the year.
Campus Life, Athletics, and Support
Aurora University does have its own housing, and it does not require all first-time students to live there—that rules out a universal requirement; it does not say that no program has such a requirement. It also offers meal plans, with a fixed number of meals per week in the largest plan. The reported maximum housing capacity is 789 students. The existence of housing does not guarantee that a bed will be available for your child: ask for this year’s exact rate and the application deadline.
Regarding ROTC, the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army. The Navy and Air Force are not marked. That does not mean they are impossible options; it means you need to ask directly.
Aurora competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with membership reported in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track and field. That is the school’s membership, not a guaranteed place on a team. If your child wants to play, contact the coach directly and ask about the division, roster openings, and athletic scholarships.
It also offers distance education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. In the most recent count, 13 out of every 100 undergraduate students took their entire course load online; the rest took at least one class in person. The library operates with paid staff, a physical and digital collection, and interlibrary lending.
Among the services it reports are combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, support for veterans and service members—including participation in Yellow Ribbon—and a webpage for services for students with disabilities.
Who Stays and Who Finishes
For me, this is one of the most important chapters, because this is where the data stop talking about the entrance and begin talking about the entire journey.
Of the first-time, full-time students who entered in 2022, 78 out of every 100 were still enrolled or had already graduated one year later. That places the figure slightly above the midpoint among similar schools—neither among the best nor among the worst in the group. The data do not separate those who are still studying from those who have already finished, and there is something worth remembering: not returning to this school does not always mean leaving college. Someone who transferred and continues at another university counts the same in this number as someone who stopped studying altogether.
Now comes the part that requires more care. Of the first-time, full-time, bachelor’s-degree-seeking students who entered in 2017, 58 out of every 100 had graduated from Aurora itself six years later. At the four-year mark, the figure drops to 46 out of every 100. This rate falls below the midpoint among its peers—more than half of similar schools reported a higher proportion.
I want to tell you very clearly what this number does not say: we do not know what happened to everyone else. A student who does not appear as a graduate in this count may have transferred and graduated elsewhere, may have taken a break, or may have left college entirely. The report does not allow us to reconstruct that complete story. Do not turn it into zero, and do not assume the worst without asking.
There is a third view at eight years that combines full-time and part-time students, first-time students, and students with prior college experience. Of that broader cohort, 68 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from Aurora as of August 2023. Among Pell recipients, the figure was 66 out of every 100—three points below the rest. And within that same cohort, the narrower subcohort of first-time, full-time students stands at 56 out of every 100, twelve points below the broader figure. For 26 out of every 100, enrollment status is listed as unknown: the report could not determine whether they were still enrolled anywhere. Unknown is not the same as dropping out.
None of these figures predicts what will happen to your child. They are institutional averages from past generations. What you can do with them is ask the university a specific question: what support exists today to help a student finish on time, and what more recent outcomes can the university share with you?
What You Already Know and What You Still Need to Learn
You now understand one piece of the puzzle in considerable depth: what Aurora University is, how it admits students, what it costs on paper and what it ends up costing in practice, how students pay, and what happens to the students who enroll there.
That is not the only piece you need. You still need to consider what your child wants to study and what your child has accomplished so far. And you still need to consider what your family can and is willing to pay, something you will know with certainty only when the financial aid letter arrives with your child’s name on it.
Your child’s role is to investigate the exact program of interest, write the essay, speak with a coach if your child wants to play, and decide whether this school feels like the right place. Your role is the money, the calendar, the questions in writing, and providing support without carrying alone the weight of a system you are only beginning to learn. This is not about deciding for your child. It is about making sure neither of you reaches a deadline without having done your part on time.
With this piece in hand, you can now ask the right questions, and that is already a step many families never manage to take.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from data reported by the institution itself to the U.S. Department of Education’s IPEDS system, primarily for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Aurora University or the United States government, and this article does not replace official or personalized information that the university can provide directly.