by our College Data Analytics TeamHere is what you can expect to pay at Columbia College Chicago, from sticker cost of attendance and projected degree cost to net price, debt at graduation, and aid breakdowns.
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The total published cost of attendance at Columbia College Chicago works out to about $49,799.00 annually.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $34,088.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,711.00 |
| Total cost | $49,799.00 |
| That is 52% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $49,799.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$25,291.00 |
| Net price | $24,508.00 |
| That is 25% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $49,799.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$30,965.00 |
| Net price | $18,834.00 |
| That is 43% below the national average net price. | |
| Explore each piece on tuition and fees plus room and board. |
Published costs have climbed year over year by around 7.1% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. Below, the cost is projected across a degree for three students at once — low-income with aid, average aid, and no aid. The repayment figures use a ten-year loan at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.1% |
| Freshman year | $20,171.00 | $26,248.00 | $53,334.00 |
| Senior year | $24,779.00 | $32,244.00 | $65,519.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $89,690.00 | $116,710.00 | $237,149.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $34,169.00 | $44,462.00 | $90,345.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,032.00 | $1,343.00 | $2,729.00 |
| Total amount paid | $123,859.00 | $161,173.00 | $327,495.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 7.1% | 7.1% | 7.1% |
| Freshman year | $20,171.00 | $26,248.00 | $53,334.00 |
| Senior year | $21,603.00 | $28,111.00 | $57,121.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $41,774.00 | $54,359.00 | $110,455.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $15,914.00 | $20,709.00 | $42,079.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $481.00 | $626.00 | $1,271.00 |
| Total amount paid | $57,689.00 | $75,068.00 | $152,534.00 |
Jump to the net-price detail in the net-price section.
Net price strips out grant and scholarship aid to show what families really pay. For most families it is a more realistic figure than the published cost.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $26,598.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $26,788.00 |
Net price is far from uniform: lower-income families typically pay much less after aid. Below, average net price is broken out by family income:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $21,821.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $22,285.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $27,380.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $32,896.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $36,054.00 |
For a personalized estimate, try the Columbia College Chicago Net Price Calculator, or get in touch with the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the grants & scholarships detail.
The median graduating debt at Columbia College Chicago comes to $16,500.00, landing it in the Low ($10-20k) debt-burden category.
The percentile breakdown reveals the full debt landscape:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $9,500.00 |
| Median (50th) | $16,500.00 |
| 75th | $27,500.00 |
| 90th | $37,215.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
For the full borrowing and repayment picture, see the student loan debt detail.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. The breakdown below segments borrowers by family income at entry:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,000.00 |
| Middle income | $15,548.00 |
| High income | $15,750.00 |
Borrowers from lower-income families leave school with $2,250.00 in additional median debt versus high-income graduates.
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,750.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750.00 |
The Pell Grant is the largest federal grant for undergraduates from low-income families. Contrasting Pell and non-Pell borrowers shows how need shapes debt.
The median debt gap between Pell and non-Pell graduates of Columbia College Chicago is $5,000.00. Federal data flags this school for Pell-related debt inequity.
The default-rate category at Columbia College Chicago is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 10.8% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Columbia College Chicago reach $977,881,721.00 across 45,841 recipients.
Veterans and active-duty students can access dedicated federal education aid like the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD tuition assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 74 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $16,502.00 |
Explore GI Bill and military aid in detail on the veterans benefits detail.
The figures above are a starting point — as you weigh Columbia College Chicago, think through the questions below:
Use the pages below to go deeper on a specific part of the cost story:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.