Concordia Chicago vs Northern Illinois University (NIU)

Concordia University-Chicago and Northern Illinois University, both esteemed institutions of higher learning, offer distinct educational experiences. Concordia, a private Lutheran university, boasts a tight-knit community with a focus on liberal arts and pre-professional programs. In contrast, Northern Illinois, a public research university, excels in STEM fields and offers a wider range of graduate programs. While Concordia's acceptance rate is slightly lower, its smaller student body fosters a more personalized learning environment. Explore the detailed comparison table to discover further differences in acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates, helping you make an informed decision that aligns with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	Concordia University-Chicago	Northern Illinois University
Overview
Location	River Forest, Illinois	Dekalb, Illinois
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	57.0%	67.0%
Common app member	Yes	Yes
Religious affiliation	Evangelical

Admission
Acceptance rate	87.8%	70.4%
Application fees	$50	Undergraduate: $40 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	5,620	22,602
Total number of admissions given out	4,935	15,922
Admitted students who chose to enroll	336	2,285
Yield rate	6.8%	14.4%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$44,860	$27,218
Average net price	$18,817	$13,265
Tuition	$33,310	$9,606
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $6,550 Meal plan: $3,880	$11,098
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Prepaid tuition plan Guaranteed tuition plan Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $23,508	98.0% Average amount $13,008
Students receiving federal student loan	64.0% Average amount $4,744	58.0% Average amount $5,313
Students taking out private loans	7.0% Average amount $11,395	5.0% Average amount $11,726

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	1,438 Men 43.3% Women 56.7%	11,834 Men 47.1% Women 52.9%
Graduate students	4,648 Men 32.1% Women 67.9%	4,400 Men 40.8% Women 59.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	38.4%	N/A
International students	2.7%	4.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	Suburb: Small
Dormitory capacity	726	4,500
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	Illinois Missouri Indiana Michigan Florida	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Education Kinesiology & Leisure Studies Business Health Professions Psychology	Education Health Professions Business Engineering Computer and Information Science
Students to faculty ratio	13:1	15:1
Institutional accreditation	Higher Learning Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	42.8%	50.8%
Dropout rate	14.0%	46.9%
Transferred out	43.2%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $111,823 Year 2: $114,892 Year 3: $115,033 Educational Administration and Supervision (Graduate/Professional Certificates) Year 1: $86,536 Year 2: $99,683 Year 3: $105,927 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,837 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $69,591 Educational Administration and Supervision (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $64,893 Year 2: $64,493 Year 3: $69,201 Educational/Instructional Media Design (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $59,510 Year 2: $63,855 Year 3: $67,477 Student Counseling and Personnel Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $60,778 Year 2: $57,657 Year 3: $64,254 Special Education and Teaching (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,253 Year 2: $58,057 Year 3: $60,306 Curriculum and Instruction (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $55,265 Year 2: $57,937 Year 3: $59,496 Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $53,650 Year 2: $56,415 Year 3: $59,101 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $56,219 Year 2: $59,576 Year 3: $57,980	Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $118,716 Year 2: $98,186 Year 3: $125,726 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $95,047 Year 2: $88,920 Year 3: $96,563 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $91,161 Year 2: $91,587 Year 3: $94,214 Management Information Systems and Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $66,013 Year 2: $70,009 Year 3: $76,350 Computer Science (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $74,606 Year 2: $75,204 Year 3: $75,980 Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $64,752 Year 2: $64,150 Year 3: $74,168 Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $70,234 Year 2: $66,989 Year 3: $74,151 Psychology, General (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $57,535 Year 2: $68,499 Year 3: $73,940 Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $70,453 Year 2: $69,151 Year 3: $72,792 Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $63,291 Year 2: $63,685 Year 3: $72,760

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