10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
+$343,840at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
University of Chicago
⌖ Chicago, IL · 31 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
MODELED SCENARIO · Strong payoff
+$343,840 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
Observed earnings clearly outpace the comparison earnings and estimated education cost in this scenario.
4.1 yrsModeled economic break-even
+144%Modeled 10-year ROI
$103,328Observed earnings · year 5
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
Cost, completion and earnings context
$14,860Average net price / year
$90,360Cost of attendance
$103,328Median earnings · year 5 after completion
95.9%Completion rate
4.5%Admission rate
7,569Student size
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$77,119Year 1
$127,757Year 4
$103,328Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Law · First Professional Degree$279,2032Business Administration, Management and Operations · Master's Degree$243,2563Computer Programming · Master's Degree$179,9644Computer Science · Bachelor's Degree$178,0685Mathematics · Bachelor's Degree$172,8266Computer Science · Master's Degree$169,7657Statistics · Master's Degree$161,8428Economics · Bachelor's Degree$159,578Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Comparable colleges in IL
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Chicago, IL
Illinois Institute of Technology
- Annual net price
- $18,425
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $86,006
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +62%
Northwestern University
- Annual net price
- $29,167
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $95,985
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +72%
University of St Francis
- Annual net price
- $13,006
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $69,559
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- +6%
Lewis University
- Annual net price
- $17,028
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $65,878
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -16%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Law | First Professional Degree | $279,203 | Not available |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations | Master's Degree | $243,256 | Not available |
| Computer Programming | Master's Degree | $179,964 | Not available |
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | $178,068 | Not available |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $172,826 | $12,000 |
| Computer Science | Master's Degree | $169,765 | Not available |
| Statistics | Master's Degree | $161,842 | Not available |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $159,578 | $13,197 |
| Statistics | Bachelor's Degree | $130,189 | Not available |
| Criminal Justice and Corrections | Master's Degree | $128,337 | Not available |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Master's Degree | $126,821 | Not available |
| Public Policy Analysis | Master's Degree | $112,727 | Not available |
| Medicine | First Professional Degree | $101,675 | Not available |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Bachelor's Degree | $96,510 | Not available |
| Public Policy Analysis | Bachelor's Degree | $94,237 | $17,492 |
| Political Science and Government | Bachelor's Degree | $87,869 | $18,500 |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies | Doctoral Degree | $83,657 | Not available |
| International Relations and National Security Studies | Master's Degree | $83,492 | Not available |
| English Language and Literature, General | Bachelor's Degree | $78,169 | Not available |
| Social Sciences, General | Master's Degree | $74,690 | Not available |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $73,483 | $17,500 |
| Social Work | Master's Degree | $71,980 | Not available |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | $71,709 | $22,641 |
| History | Doctoral Degree | $71,260 | Not available |
| Area Studies | Master's Degree | $70,631 | Not available |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods | Master's Degree | $69,033 | Not available |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $64,330 | Not available |
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities | Master's Degree | $60,106 | Not available |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $59,898 | $12,000 |
| Biology, General | Bachelor's Degree | $59,794 | $13,500 |
| Theological and Ministerial Studies | Master's Degree | $53,796 | Not available |
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.