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Columbia College Chicago
Admission at Columbia College Chicago is close to open (89.5%), which shifts the homework to outcomes: check the $42,195 median earnings below before the application.
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Columbia College Chicago sits in Chicago proper — a private campus woven into the city rather than walled off from it.
Its highest-earning path is Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication, where graduates median $66,798 four years out. 46% of undergraduates carry Pell grants — a plain read on who the campus actually serves. With 5,368 undergraduates and a residential core, weekends happen on campus — and 66% of first-years come back for a second year.
Columbia College Chicago won't look at test scores — here the GPA calculator is the tool that matters. Bring your saved semester numbers and see what they average.
Admissions
In the Fall 2023 cycle, Columbia College Chicago received 7,873 applications and admitted 7,178 (91.2%), with 1,608 enrolling.
Leave the SAT prep out of this one — test scores are disregarded entirely. Columbia College Chicago's 89.5% admission rate turned on grades and application strength.
How Columbia College Chicago compares
| Columbia College Chicago | Illinois median | National median | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance rate | 89.5% | 77% | 77.2% |
| Tuition (in-state) | $34,088 | $31,360 | $19,591 |
| Median earnings (10 yr) | $42,195 | $58,572 | $53,781 |
At $42,195, ten-year earnings trail the state median ($58,572). Look at Columbia College Chicago's major-level rows below before reading too much into the campus-wide number.
Cost, size & completion
Tuition runs $34,088 regardless of where you're from. At Columbia College Chicago, that sticker is a starting point for aid talks — not what the median family pays.
At 5,368 undergrads, Columbia College Chicago is a mid-sized campus by U.S. standards.
51.5% graduate within six years. Roughly 48% don't — ask a Columbia College Chicago tour guide what happens to them and watch the answer carefully.
Top majors by earnings at Columbia College Chicago
| Bachelor's program | Median earnings, 4 yrs after completion |
|---|---|
| Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication | $66,798 |
| Marketing | $65,686 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | $56,482 |
| Radio, Television, and Digital Communication | $54,357 |
| Journalism | $51,639 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management | $50,592 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other | $49,593 |
| Design and Applied Arts | $48,601 |
| American Sign Language | $45,619 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | $44,703 |
| Graphic Communications | $43,970 |
| Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians | $43,731 |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $42,176 |
| Dance | $41,842 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $41,200 |
| Music | $40,734 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | $39,986 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | $39,751 |
Median earnings for these 18 Columbia College Chicago programs come from a different federal cohort than the campus-wide $42,195 above — compare rows to each other, not to that 10-year figure. 8 additional Columbia College Chicago programs have earnings withheld under federal privacy rules.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA and test scores do you need for Columbia College Chicago?
Columbia College Chicago doesn't look at test scores; its 89.5% admission rate turned on transcripts, coursework rigor and the application itself.
What is Columbia College Chicago's acceptance rate?
91.2% in the Fall 2023 cycle — 7,178 admitted from 7,873 applicants.
How much does Columbia College Chicago cost?
At Columbia College Chicago, published tuition is $34,088 — net price after aid usually comes in lower. That number is Columbia College Chicago's ceiling, not a quote.
What do Columbia College Chicago graduates earn?
Federal data puts median earnings at $42,195 ten years after enrolling. The table above breaks this down by major.
Similar colleges in Illinois
- Concordia University-Chicago — 92.8% admitted
- Graham Hospital School of Nursing — 100% admitted
- Greenville University — 97.5% admitted
- Benedictine University — 95.2% admitted
Run your own numbers
Data: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (Jun 2026), IPEDS ADM2023/HD2024. Retrieved 2026-09-01. Figures reflect the latest federal cohorts, which lag the current admissions cycle.