Principia College
Elsah, IL 62028-9799
About Principia College
Principia College is a private university in Elsah, Illinois, enrolling about 339 students. Admission is moderately selective for first-time degree-seeking undergraduates reporting admissions data to the Education Department. The acceptance rate is about 44.40% in the latest College Scorecard admissions data. Student demographics in federal data include Non-Resident Alien (41.0%) and White (35.4%) among the largest enrollment groups.
Key findings
- Versus the Illinois median, sticker tuition is about 2.6×.
- Completion within 150% of normal time is 74.26%.
Cost benchmarks
| Benchmark | Median Tuition | Median Net Price | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Principia College | $34,680 | — | 1 |
| Private Non-profit (national median) | $29,325 | — | 1,444 |
| Illinois (state median) | $13,248 | $7,399 | 131 |
| United States (national median) | $11,900 | $17,156 | — |
Compares this campus to school-type, state, and locale medians plus a U.S. national median (College Scorecard–derived). Locale groups campuses by NCES locale type; state tuition is the median published tuition among campuses in that state.
How expensive is Principia College really?
Key findings
- Principia College charges 18% above the national private non-profit median tuition ($34,680).
- Versus the Illinois median, sticker tuition is about 2.6×.
Principia College tuition
Published undergraduate tuition $34,680
Finding Principia College charges 18% above the national private non-profit median tuition.
Evidence Published tuition is $34,680. That is 18% above the national private non-profit median ($29,325). Versus the Illinois median ($13,248), sticker tuition is about 2.6×. Versus the U.S. median ($11,900), sticker is about 2.9×.
Method Sticker tuition compared with Scorecard-derived medians by ownership, state, locale, and national rollups when available.
Interpretation Published tuition measures sticker price relative to private non-profit and geographic peers; it does not equal what undergraduates typically pay after aid.
Limitation Sticker comparisons omit room, board, and institutional aid; average net price and income-band net prices are the stronger signals of typical family cost.
Evidence: published tuition at Principia College versus school-type, state, locale, and U.S. medians.
Principia College: research record
Canonical EDsmart Data findings for Principia College—costs, outcomes, admissions, and programs—with evidence and methodology notes.
Research findings
Interpretation
High completion indicates students finish programs at scale; it does not alone measure instructional quality or labor-market fit.
Financial profile
Annual tuition
$34,680
Sticker tuition × four years (estimate, no room/board): $138,720. See cost investigation.
Student outcomes
Share of first-year students returning the following fall.
Graduation rate and 10-year earnings are in the hero strip above; see Graduates for more.
What Principia College is known for
Top program completions
- Mass Communication/Media Studies7
- Education, General7
- Business Administration and Management, General6
- Creative Writing5
- Environmental Biology5
See earnings & programs for more.
Admissions landscape
- Selective — about half of applicants (or fewer) are admitted.
- Yield: 71% of admitted students enrolled.
- Average SAT: 1096
- Midpoint ACT: 25
See Admissions for the full funnel.
Is Principia College a good school?
Data-framed fit—not a prestige rating.
Principia College is a good school for those looking for high program completion rates.
EDsmart Data does not assign an opinion score; this framing summarizes the strongest Scorecard signals for this campus.
More from the data
Location, control, enrollment, and aid context for Principia College.
Campus
Location
Elsah, IL
City / state
- ZIP
- 62028-9799
Control
Institution type
Private Non-profit
Control
- Region
- Great Lakes
- Carnegie
- Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields
Size
Enrollment
339
Total enrollment
- Undergraduate
- 378
- Full-time share
- 99%
Student aid
Debt & aid
- Pell grant share
- 0.00%
Total Cost, Aid & Default
Total Cost of Attendance
Tuition vs average net price after aid for Principia College.
Financial Aid by Income Level
Financial aid distribution by income level.
Student Loan Default Rate
The published 3-year cohort default rate for borrowers at Principia College was not reported in the College Scorecard extract for this institution.
Cohort default rates account for borrowers who default in the first three years.
Tuition tracker
Published tuition and average net price by reporting year come from the College Scorecard institution file. Values are not adjusted for inflation; missing cells mean the field was not reported or was suppressed for Principia College in that year.
Reporting years in the table below: 2013–2023 (Scorecard labels refer to the institutional submission cycle).
| Year | In-state tuition & fees | Out-of-state tuition & fees | Average net price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | $25,980 | $25,980 | — |
| 2014 | $26,850 | $26,850 | — |
| 2015 | $27,440 | $27,440 | — |
| 2016 | $27,980 | $27,980 | — |
| 2017 | $28,920 | $28,920 | — |
| 2018 | $29,470 | $29,470 | — |
| 2019 | $30,190 | $30,190 | — |
| 2020 | $30,720 | $30,720 | — |
| 2021 | $30,820 | $30,820 | — |
| 2022 | $32,130 | $32,130 | — |
| 2023 | $33,280 | $33,280 | — |
Sticker tuition and net price over time
Where the institution reported separate in-state and out-of-state tuition, both appear. Gaps mean the value was not reported for that year.
College Scorecard reporting-year fields (not inflation-adjusted).
Net price by family income
Brackets follow Scorecard definitions for the series shown (public vs private institution).
Latest income-band net prices available in the processed extract.
How difficult is it to get in?
Acceptance Rate
This institution is selective, accepting about half of all applicants.
Applicants → admits → first-time enrollment from College Scorecard / IPEDS. Bar widths are scaled for readability at highly selective schools.
Test Scores
Average 1096 (middle 50% not reported)
Midpoint 25 (middle 50% not reported)
Scores for enrollees who submitted tests (College Scorecard).
Academic Requirements
Estimated from admission selectivity and test scores. Scorecard does not publish admitted-student GPA for most institutions.
Estimated range · median 3.20
Estimated GPA band from selectivity and test scores — not an official requirement.
Enrollment & Student Demographics
Principia College reported total enrollment of about 339 students in the latest College Scorecard extract. The student body is about 59% male and 41% female. Enrollment by race and ethnicity includes Non-Resident Alien (41.0%), White (35.4%), and Black or African American (10.6%).
Full-Time vs Part-Time Enrollment
99.1% Full-Time Enrollment
The total enrollment at Principia College in 2024 is 339 students.
Undergraduate enrollment is about 378 students.
Full-time vs part-time enrollment comparison.
Retention Rate over Time
83.1%
2024 Retention Rate
Retention rate measures the number of first-time students who began their studies the previous fall and returned to school the following fall.
Retention rate over time compared to similar institutions.
Enrollment by Race & Ethnicity
Largest share of total enrollment in our College Scorecard extract.
College Scorecard student demographics (total enrollment shares).
Do students complete their programs?
Time to Complete
54.46% 100% Completion Time
74.26% 150% Completion Time
In 2024, 54.46% of students graduating from Principia College completed their program within 100% "normal time".
Completion rates over time compared to similar institutions.
Completions by Sex (Top Programs)
- Mass Communication/Media Studies: 43% male / 57% female
- Education, General: 57% male / 43% female
- Business Administration and Management, General: 83% male / 17% female
IPEDS completions by sex for the five largest programs (aggregate CIPs excluded).
Completions by Race & Ethnicity
Largest group by summed IPEDS award counts across reported programs.
Summed across program completion records in our extract.
What do Principia College graduates earn—and in which programs?
Financial value and program completions for Principia College from College Scorecard and IPEDS extracts.
Return on Investment
ROI data is not available for this institution.
Debt and 4-year net cost vs. cumulative 10-year median earnings for Principia College.
Top Programs by Completions
Largest 10 programs by IPEDS completions (28 reported codes; aggregate/unknown CIP buckets excluded).
IPEDS award counts for the largest programs at Principia College.
Employment Outcomes
Employment outcome data is not available for this institution.
Median earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after entry for Principia College graduates.
How financially powerful is this institution?
Finding: federal finance and Scorecard instructional fields for Principia College—endowment assets (fiscal year 2023), instructional staffing and expenditure. Compared with state, regional, and U.S. medians from EDsmart Data institutional financials.
Institutional endowment
$549.1M
End-of-year assets · Fiscal year 2023
- Illinois median 19× the median ($28.5M)
- Great Lakes median 17× the median ($31.8M)
- U.S. median 21× the median ($26.4M)
- Illinois median 113× the median ($15,173)
- Great Lakes median 103× the median ($16,690)
- U.S. median 141× the median ($12,100)
Instructional Resources
- Full-time faculty share: 81.5%
- Illinois median 30.7 pp above median (50.8%)
- Great Lakes median 23.4 pp above median (58.1%)
- U.S. median 23.5 pp above median (58.0%)
- Average faculty salary (monthly): $9,209
- Illinois median 1.1× the median ($8,563)
- Great Lakes median 1.1× the median ($8,046)
- U.S. median 1.2× the median ($7,615)
- Instructional expenditure per FTE: $32,709
- Illinois median 4.3× the median ($7,575)
- Great Lakes median 4.3× the median ($7,690)
- U.S. median 4.5× the median ($7,288)
Instructional metrics from College Scorecard. Peer medians are campus-level; see the institutional financials deep dive. Detailed non-instructional staff counts are not included here.
Principia College at a glance
Principia College
Principia College is a private non-profit institution in Elsah, IL, classified as Baccalaureate Colleges: Diverse Fields.
- Largest programs (IPEDS awards)
- Mass Communication/Media StudiesEducation, GeneralBusiness Administration and Management, General
- Largest enrollment groups
- Non-Resident Alien41.0%White or Caucasian35.4%Black or African American10.6%
Schools near Principia College
Other campuses in Elsah, IL when available, plus nearby institutions in Illinois.
Similar schools
Peers matched by the same EDsmart outcomes grade (Grade B) within Illinois, then by similar ownership and admissions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Principia College located?
Principia College is located in Elsah, IL.
What is Principia College's acceptance rate?
The acceptance rate at Principia College is 44.4% among first-time degree-seeking students reporting admissions data. IPEDS reports 268 applicants and 119 admits in the latest admissions cycle in our extract.
What is Principia College's tuition?
Principia College tuition (published undergraduate sticker price) is $34,680 in the latest College Scorecard data.
How much does Principia College cost?
Reported tuition is $34,680 and average net price is N/A in the latest College Scorecard data. On-campus room and board is estimated at $13,910 annually.
What is the student body demographics at Principia College?
Principia College reports undergraduate enrollment of about 378 students, Non-Resident Alien (41.0%), White (35.4%) in federal College Scorecard data.
What test scores do students need for Principia College?
Among enrolled students who submitted scores, Principia College reports midpoint SAT about 1096 and midpoint ACT about 25.
What is the graduation rate at Principia College?
The 150%-time completion rate is 74.3% for the cohort reported to the College Scorecard.
Is Principia College public or private?
Principia College is a private nonprofit institution located in Elsah, IL.
Is Principia College an HBCU?
No. Principia College is not flagged as an HBCU in the IPEDS institutional directory.
Is Principia College a tribal college?
No. Principia College is not flagged as a tribal college in IPEDS.
Is Principia College a Hispanic-serving institution (HSI)?
Using a 25% Hispanic enrollment threshold on College Scorecard demographics, Principia College does not meet that proxy (reported share 5.0%).
Is Principia College religiously affiliated?
No religious affiliation is reported for Principia College in IPEDS institutional characteristics.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
- Related geography & profiles
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology & Data Scope
This profile uses institution-level fields from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, merged with IPEDS directory attributes where needed for locale, ownership, and program completions.
Benchmark rows compare this campus to NCES locale-type medians (for example Suburban) from our processed location extract. Implied U.S. medians are derived from locale-vs-national percentage fields in that extract—not a separate national Scorecard table.