This article will not tell you whether Eastern Illinois University is the right university for your family. No one can tell you that without knowing your child, your budget, and what you are willing to do. What I can do is put clearly and plainly into your hands what official United States government data say about this institution. Read it as you would review a map before choosing a route.
What Kind of University Is It?
Eastern Illinois University is a public four-year university located in Charleston, Illinois, in Coles County. The system that classifies the country’s universities—known as Carnegie—describes it as a master’s university with large graduate programs and places it among medium-sized, four-year, “highly residential” schools: in the most recent measurement of this type, at least half of its undergraduate degree-seeking students lived in housing owned by or affiliated with the institution, and at least 80 out of every 100 studied full time.
That last point matters if your family lives far away. The area surrounding the campus is officially classified as a remote town, not an urban area. If you do not live nearby, the question is not only “Will they admit my child?” but also “Where will my child live, and how will my child get to campus?” That calculation is up to you; no federal data can settle it.
It is also worth stating precisely what this school is not: it is not listed as a historically Black college or university (HBCU), a tribal university, or a land-grant institution. That says nothing about which communities it serves or how your child would feel there. Those three labels simply do not apply to this institution, and if you want to know how the school experiences cultural diversity from day to day, that question is answered by speaking with someone studying there today, not by reading a checkbox.
The highest level the institution reports offering extends through a post-master’s certificate, and it is classified primarily as a school that awards bachelor’s degrees or higher. If your child is considering a field that connects undergraduate and graduate study, that specific path must be verified program by program: the institutional data do not guarantee it.
One detail worth keeping in mind if your child would arrive as a transfer student: Carnegie places this university among institutions that receive many transfer students. That does not say how many credits they bring in or how many are lost along the way. If that is your child’s path, ask in writing, before enrollment, which courses will count.
The Actual Size of the Student Community
In the most recently reported fall term, Eastern Illinois University had 8,804 enrolled students. It is neither a small school nor a huge one: it falls squarely within the most common size band among similar selective public universities.
But that large number hides something important: 6,849 are undergraduates and 1,955 are graduate students. If your child is beginning a bachelor’s degree, the number that matters is not 8,804. It is 6,849.
This is what the undergraduate community looks like:
| Data Point | Figure |
|---|---|
| Hispanic or Latino students | 17 out of every 100 |
| Women | 57 out of every 100 |
| Students ages 25 to 64 | 10 out of every 100 |
| First-time students with a permanent address in Illinois | 90 out of every 100 |
Seventeen out of every hundred is not a majority, but it is not unusual either: your child would not arrive as the only one. And ninety out of every hundred first-time students reported an Illinois address when they applied, confirming something else that matters financially: most students here are local. If your child’s permanent address is in another state, ask now which rate would apply—because that classification changes the price, and it is a separate question from the residency count.
How Academic Life Is Structured
The calendar operates on semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks, with consistent dates for everyone.
The school stated that it accepts credit for AP exams as well as what IPEDS calls “credit for life experience”—learning acquired through independent study, work, a portfolio, or prior certifications—in addition to credit for military training. It also enrolls high school students in college courses, both within and outside a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth that is worth more than the complete list: the fact that the school reports these options does not mean your child will receive credit for what they already know. It does not say what AP scores are required or how many credits are awarded. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrollment. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
As for the range of majors: between July 2022 and June 2023, the university awarded 1,104 bachelor’s degrees across 22 program families. No area accounts for a large share—the largest, education and teaching, represented only 13 out of every 100 degrees awarded that year. It is a broad offering, with no single program dominating the others. Twenty-two active program families do not mean exactly twenty-two majors: verify the specific program that interests your child.
Regarding group size, the university reports a ratio of 15 students per full-time-equivalent faculty member, a middle-range figure compared with similar schools. This number does not show the actual size of a first-year class. It says only that, on an institution-wide average, it is at neither the high nor the low extreme.
The institution also reports structured opportunities: study abroad, cocurricular undergraduate research, a complete program that can be taken only at night or on weekends, and teacher preparation and certification pathways, including state approval for initial teacher certification.
Getting In: What Admissions Requires
Eastern Illinois University does not have open admissions. It reviews specific components before saying yes. Of the nine considerations covered by this report, four are required: the high school transcript, grade point average, completion of the university’s required college-preparatory curriculum, and an English proficiency exam for applicants to whom it applies. Others, such as class rank or letters of recommendation, are not required but are considered if submitted.
If your child studied outside the United States or completed high school in Spanish, ask now whether the English exam applies and what would qualify your child for an exemption. It is one of those things families discover late, and it is marked here as required when applicable.
The published undergraduate application fee is $0.
Now, the numbers on who gets in:
In the most recent cycle, the university received 11,648 applications from first-time students and offered admission to 7,892. That is 68 out of every 100. Compared with similar selective public schools, that percentage is on the low side: seven out of ten of those schools admitted a larger share of applicants. Admission is not guaranteed, but neither is it a lottery. The application is reviewed.
Here is the part almost no family knows and that changes how everything else should be read: out of every 100 students who were admitted, only 10 enrolled. The other ninety do not appear as enrolled here during the reported period. The data do not say whether they attended another university or why.
Do not read that as a stain on the school. The fact that most admitted students did not enroll does not mean the school is bad; the federal record does not explain each person’s reasons. What it does tell you, very clearly, is this: what others decided does not predict what your family will be offered. Wait for the letter showing the net price—what the year will actually cost you—before ruling out or committing to this school.
Regarding standardized tests, the SAT and ACT are not required. Only 1 out of every 100 enrolled students submitted SAT scores, a sample so small—just 10 people—that no reported score range should be treated as an actual threshold for this university.
And regarding transfers: among the cohort of full-time students who entered in 2017, 32 out of every 100 transferred to another institution without completing their degree here. That is a high proportion compared with similar schools. Keep this in mind when you read the graduation figures below: a student who transfers and finishes elsewhere does not count as a graduate of this school, even if the student completed a degree.
The Sticker Price and What Is Actually Paid
At Eastern Illinois University, among 203 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid, paid the in-state or in-district rate, and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $11,412. Among 130 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $12,371; among 122 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $21,672. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (203 students) and the highest-income band (122 students) is $10,260. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $14,621.
$11,412 was the average net price for the lowest-income families in academic year 2022-23. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you determine whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at this public institution, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average for students receiving grants or scholarships, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships; it also uses that rate. If your family lives outside the state or district, the calculation is different. Ask about it before applying.
How Students Are Paying Today
Out of every 100 degree-seeking students here, 86 received some grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid—a percentage that places the university in the highest quarter among similar schools. Among those who received it, the average for the year was $11,649. And 47 out of every 100 received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for low-income families.
Regarding loans, 35 out of every 100 undergraduate students took out federal student loans, and those who borrowed took out an average of $5,991 that year. That is a middle-range proportion, neither among the schools with the most debt nor those with the least. That average covers only one year and only federal student loans: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, credit cards, or debt accumulated by graduation.
Here is a truth worth stating plainly: this percentage describes other families, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow comes from your child’s own financial aid letter. Wait for that letter before making a commitment.
The university also reports payment options: guaranteed tuition, prepaid tuition, and an installment payment plan.
Campus Life, Sports, and Support
The university has its own housing, with a reported capacity of 4,304 students. It is not required for all first-time, full-time students, although that does not mean no program requires it. The university also offers meal plans with a fixed number of meals per week in its largest plan. The existence of the option does not guarantee a bed or a spot: request the price, deadline, and whether a place is guaranteed in writing.
It competes in intercollegiate athletics and is affiliated with the NCAA, with confirmed membership in football, basketball, baseball, and cross-country or track. If your child wants to play, that membership belongs to the school, not to your child: contact the coach for the sport directly and ask about roster space, division, and athletic scholarships.
ROTC is available, and the only branch confirmed in writing is the Army. If your child is looking for the Navy or Air Force, neither is confirmed here—not impossible, but something you need to ask about directly.
Distance education is available at the undergraduate and graduate levels, although only 9 out of every 100 undergraduate students take all their classes that way; the rest combine them with in-person classes. The library has employed staff, physical and digital materials, and interlibrary lending.
Formal support services are also reported: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for students, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and service members, a veterans’ student organization, and a published services page for people with disabilities.
Do Students Stay and Graduate?
This is probably the section that carries the most weight. Let’s take it slowly.
Retention. Of the cohort that entered in fall 2022 as full-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students, 70 out of every 100 were still enrolled here or had already graduated one year later. Compared with similar schools, that proportion is on the low side. The data do not distinguish between those who are still studying and those who have already graduated, nor do they say what happened to the rest.
Graduation. Among students who entered in 2017 as first-time, full-time bachelor’s-degree-seeking students:
| Time Frame | Earned a Degree from This School |
|---|---|
| 4 years | 29 out of every 100 |
| 6 years | 45 out of every 100 |
Four years is the time frame most families budget for, and the figure at that point is 29 out of every 100. By six years, it rises to 45 out of every 100—almost an even split. Compared with similar schools, it falls below the group’s midpoint. That difference of 16 points between four and six years does not say how much that additional time cost in tuition, rent, or lost work. Before signing, ask how long the program that interests your child actually tends to take and how the cost changes if it takes longer.
At eight years, counting a broader cohort that includes part-time students and students with prior experience, 56 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this institution. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 52 out of every 100—eight points below the figure for those who did not receive one. If your family would qualify for Pell, it is worth asking directly what concrete support exists for those students: an assigned counselor, emergency aid, and whether the grant renews each year. Get the answers in writing.
None of this predicts what will happen to your child. These are proportions from past cohorts, not a forecast about your child.
What You Know Now and What Is Still Up to You
You now know something real about Eastern Illinois University: its size, who makes up its community, what it costs on paper and what other families have paid on average, how selective it is on paper and how few admitted students choose to enroll, and how likely a student is, based on historical figures, to graduate from there in four, six, or eight years.
This is one piece of the map. It is not the whole map.
It is the university’s job to admit, deny, and offer aid—and you have already seen how it has done so with previous cohorts. It is your child’s job to decide what to study, how far away to live, and to put in the effort that no institutional figure can guarantee or take away. It is your job to combine this information with what your family can afford, request the aid letter before deciding, and ask the specific questions this article has already pointed out: how your AP credits will transfer, which rate would apply based on your residence, the housing deadline, and the actual support available if your child qualifies for Pell.
No figure in this article changes with more hope or more fear. It stays where it is. What can move is you: with this piece now in hand, toward a more complete plan for your family.
Source note: the information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and official reports from the United States Department of Education, primarily covering the years 2022-23 and 2023-24. Best College Aid does not represent Eastern Illinois University or any government agency; this article organizes and explains public data to help you understand it.