At a Glance
Loyola Chicago admits 75.1% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Debt at Graduation
58%
receive need-based grant aid
$42,570
average debt at graduation
Loyola Chicago graduates carry an average of $42,570 in debt.
Merit Aid
4,139
students received merit aid
$24,260
average merit award
Getting In
Loyola Chicago admits 75.1% of applicants.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 39% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 15% of the class submitted
37.3% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
Loyola University Chicago gives essays less weight than many schools — academics drive most admissions decisions here. Demonstrated interest is Considered — showing genuine engagement with this school may help your application.
Student Life
37.1% of Loyola Chicago classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At Loyola Chicago, 37.1% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
13:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
From out of state (freshman class)
44.9%
Live on campus
42%
Men in fraternities
5%
Women in sororities
9%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
Loyola Chicago's student body is 43.3% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
Loyola Chicago graduates 66.5% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
Loyola Chicago graduates 66.5% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
Loyola Chicago
66.5%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $67,408
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
73.6%
Overall 6-yr rate
63.7%
Pell recipient rate
A 9.9 point graduation gap between lower-income and overall students suggests financial or academic challenges for some students.
Freshman Retention
84.9%
84.9% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Chicago.
Loyola's Lake Shore Campus sits directly on Lake Michigan in the Rogers Park and Edgewater neighborhoods, about seven miles north of downtown Chicago and served by its own CTA Red Line stop. The campus is compact and residential-feeling, but the Loop's employers, museums and lakefront trail are a short train ride away rather than a drive.
Notable Alumni
Michael R. Quinlan
Former Chairman and CEO of McDonald's Corporation; earned his bachelor's (1967) and MBA (1970) at Loyola, and the university's business school was renamed in his honor after his 2012 gift
Class of 1967
Bob Newhart
Emmy-winning comedian and actor (The Bob Newhart Show, The Big Bang Theory); earned a bachelor's degree in commerce/business from Loyola in 1952
Class of 1952
Sandra Cisneros
Award-winning author of The House on Mango Street; earned her BA in English from Loyola in 1976
Class of 1976
Jennifer Morrison
Actress known for House and Once Upon a Time; studied theatre with a minor in English at Loyola, graduating in 2000
Class of 2000
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
The City
Major city
Chicago, IL
Best For
Traditions
Loyolapalooza
Loyola's end-of-year outdoor concert and carnival, styled after Chicago's own Lollapalooza, with a headlining artist, food and games timed to the last week before finals.
Founders' Dinner
An annual celebration of Loyola's 1870 founding as St. Ignatius College, revived in 2001 after a 1990s hiatus; the university presents several of its highest honors, including the President's Medal and the Spirit of Loyola award, at the dinner.
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Chicago
Indiana Dunes National Park
1 hourLake Michigan beaches and dune trails on the Indiana shoreline, the closest real nature escape from campus.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1 hour 30 minutesA straight shot up I-94 for a lakefront city with its own museum and brewery scene.
Harbor Country, Michigan
1 hour 30 minutesLake Michigan's eastern shore towns (New Buffalo, Union Pier) that Chicagoans treat as their weekend beach getaway.
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
30 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Chicago Cubs MLB
- Chicago White Sox MLB
- Chicago Bulls NBA
- Chicago Bears NFL
- Chicago Blackhawks NHL
Career Proximity
Chicago's downtown Loop and its health-care, finance and nonprofit employers are a Red Line ride from Loyola's own campus, and the university's Quinlan School of Business and health-sciences programs lean on that access directly.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Loyola Medicine
- Northern Trust
- McDonald's Corporation
- Advocate Health Care
- JPMorgan Chase
The Loop, downtown Chicago, about 30 minutes by CTA Red Line
Who Thrives Here
Loyola Chicago admits 75.1% of applicants, a wide-open door relative to many schools in this catalog, so the fit question here is less ‘can I get in’ and more ‘is this the kind of place I want.’ The Lake Shore Campus sits directly on Lake Michigan in Rogers Park, about seven miles north of downtown Chicago and reachable by its own CTA Red Line stop — a real city commute, not a suburban shuttle. Only 42% of undergraduates live on campus and Greek life is small (5% of men, 9% of women), so campus life runs through the city and through Loyola's Jesuit, service-oriented identity — Campus Ministries is one of the university's active student organizations — rather than a fraternity or sorority scene. Business and marketing is the largest major at 22% of degrees conferred, and biological sciences plus health professions together account for another 27%, reflecting a pull toward Chicago's health-care and finance employers. The trade-off to weigh: 84.9% of first-years return for sophomore year and 73.6% graduate within six years, but only 66.5% finish in four — a meaningful gap that should factor into any four-year cost plan. Loyola meets 83.8% of demonstrated need on average, and students who borrow graduate with $42,570 in average debt. At $58,510 in tuition and fees, the aid package, not the sticker price, will decide affordability for most families.