by our College Data Analytics TeamThis guide covers the real cost of attending Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, spanning what it costs to attend, projected costs over a degree, net price, debt outcomes, and aid equity.
If you want to dig into a particular figure, jump to any section below:
What it costs to attend Southern Illinois University-Carbondale amounts to about $29,268.00 per academic year.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $13,334.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,934.00 |
| Total cost | $29,268.00 |
| That is 52% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $29,268.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$15,032.00 |
| Net price | $14,236.00 |
| That is 26% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $29,268.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$18,914.00 |
| Net price | $10,354.00 |
| That is 46% below the national average net price. | |
| Explore each piece on the tuition & fees page plus living costs. |
The tables below project a full degree at the current published cost. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. Loan math assumes ten-year repayment at 6.8% interest.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $10,354.00 | $14,236.00 | $29,268.00 |
| Senior year | $10,354.00 | $14,236.00 | $29,268.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $41,416.00 | $56,944.00 | $117,072.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $15,778.00 | $21,694.00 | $44,600.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $477.00 | $655.00 | $1,347.00 |
| Total amount paid | $57,194.00 | $78,638.00 | $161,672.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Freshman year | $10,354.00 | $14,236.00 | $29,268.00 |
| Senior year | $10,354.00 | $14,236.00 | $29,268.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $20,708.00 | $28,472.00 | $58,536.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $7,889.00 | $10,847.00 | $22,300.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $238.00 | $328.00 | $674.00 |
| Total amount paid | $28,597.00 | $39,319.00 | $80,836.00 |
| Jump to the net-price detail in the Net Price section. |
Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published sticker price. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $13,297.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $16,177.00 |
Net price varies sharply by family income, dropping as need-based aid grows. The table below shows the average net price by family-income bracket:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $12,928.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $12,082.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $13,206.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $22,819.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $23,582.00 |
Run your own numbers with the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Net Price Calculator, or get in touch with the financial aid office.
Want to know how that aid is awarded? See the financial aid breakdown.
Typical debt at graduation from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale stands at $17,750.00, which the Department of Education classifies as a Low ($10-20k) debt-burden bucket.
The full distribution of debt at graduation looks like this:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $3,750.00 |
| 25th | $6,538.00 |
| Median (50th) | $17,750.00 |
| 75th | $26,500.00 |
| 90th | $35,500.00 |
The spread between the 10th and 90th percentiles reflects how variable debt outcomes are at this school.
Read the complete debt breakdown on the student loan debt detail.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. Below, debt is broken out by low, middle, and high family income:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,750.00 |
| Middle income | $17,500.00 |
| High income | $15,000.00 |
Borrowers from lower-income families leave school with $4,750.00 more debt than their high-income peers.
Whether your parents attended college is associated with differences in median debt at graduation.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750.00 |
First-generation borrowers from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale take on $2,750.00 more median debt than continuing-generation peers.
The Pell Grant is the main federal need-based award for undergraduates. The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap reveals how borrowing differs by need.
The gap between Pell-eligible and non-Pell median debt at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale comes to $4,750.00. This institution is flagged by federal data for Pell-debt inequity.
The default-rate classification at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 7.6% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale amount to $1,582,991,576.00 spread across 63,392 borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty servicemembers can tap dedicated federal aid programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 306 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $9,710.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 107 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $2,278.00 |
Explore GI Bill and military aid in detail on the veterans benefits detail.
The data above is a foundation; round it out by asking yourself about Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, consider the following:
For a closer look at any of these topics, follow the links below:
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.