Principia College
Elsah, Illinois · Website
Principia College is a private nonprofit 4-year college in Elsah, Illinois with 339 undergraduates. 74% of students finish within 6 years.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · June 2026 data
Net price
-
A year, after grants
Tuition and fees
$34,680
US median $11,837
Admission rate
Open
Completion rate
74%
Within 6 years, US 58%
Median debt
-
Earnings at 10 years
-
Cost
What a year costs: posted prices and the average after grants
- Tuition and fees
- $34,680
- Students with a need-based grant
- 0%
- Students with federal loans
- 0%
Net price is what students who get aid pay on average after grants.
Tuition and net price by year
School years 2015-16 to 2024-25. The year on the chart is the year the school year starts.
Yearly cost
Tuition and fees went from $27,440 in 2015-16 to $34,680 in 2024-25.
Admission, completion and retention
Share of applicants admitted, of students who finish and of first-year students who come back
Admission and students
- Admission rate
- Open admission
- SAT reading, middle
- 556
- SAT math, middle
- 555
- ACT, middle
- 25
- Undergraduates
- 339
- Part-time students
- 0.9%
- Women
- 41%
- Students per teacher
- 6
- Completion rate
- 74%
- Retention rate
- 83%
- Highest degree
- Bachelor's degree
- Programs
- 35
- Endowment
- $592.9M
- Other
- Open admission
Earnings and debt
Compared with the medians of the colleges of its state, of colleges of the same kind and of all US colleges
| Measure | College | IL median | Same kind | US median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price | - | $15,156 | $22,320 | $17,138 |
| Tuition in-state | $34,680 | $13,291 | $31,170 | $11,837 |
| Admission rate | - | 77% | 74% | 78% |
| Completion rate | 74% | 59% | 57% | 58% |
| Retention rate | 83% | 72% | 77% | 75% |
| Median debt | - | $10,297 | $24,287 | $13,271 |
| Earnings after 6 years | - | $34,234 | $44,392 | $35,656 |
| Earnings after 10 years | - | $39,544 | $52,928 | $40,813 |
Same kind: US private nonprofit 4-year colleges. Earnings and debt are medians of former students who received federal student aid.
Programs
35 fields of study and credentials, with graduates, debt and earnings
| Field of study | Graduates | Median debt | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | US median 4 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 18 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 9 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| EconomicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 8 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population BiologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 5 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 5 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Natural Resources Conservation and ResearchBachelor's | Bachelor's | 4 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Computer ScienceBachelor's | Bachelor's | 4 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Sustainability StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 4 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Business Administration, Management and OperationsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 4 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| HistoryBachelor's | Bachelor's | 4 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Engineering ScienceBachelor's | Bachelor's | 3 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| International/Globalization StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 3 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's | Bachelor's | 3 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| MusicBachelor's | Bachelor's | 3 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Finance and Financial Management ServicesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 3 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and LinguisticsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 2 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 2 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 2 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| MathematicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 2 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Multi-/Interdisciplinary Studies, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | - | - | Withheld | - |
| Religion/Religious StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Sociology and AnthropologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| DanceBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | - | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and StagecraftBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
| Entrepreneurial and Small Business OperationsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 1 | Withheld | Withheld | Withheld | - |
In the area
- Jobs, pay and new homes: the county of Elsah and Illinois on Local Economy
- More colleges: All colleges in Illinois
- Homes: Homes for sale in Illinois
Questions and answers
What is the acceptance rate at Principia College?
Principia College has open admission: it accepts students who meet its basic requirements, such as a high school diploma.
What is the graduation rate at Principia College?
74% of first-time, full-time students at Principia College finish within 6 years. 83% of first-year students come back for a second year. The median of private nonprofit 4-year colleges is 57%.
What are the most popular majors at Principia College?
Education, General (18 bachelor's graduates), Communication and Media Studies (9 bachelor's graduates), Economics (8 bachelor's graduates) had the most graduates in the newest year, out of 35 programs.
Official public data, June 2026 release. Net price is for first-time, full-time students who get aid. Completion counts first-time, full-time students who finish within 150% of the normal time. Debt and earnings are medians of students who received federal student aid, measured a few years after they left, in the dollars of the year measured; earnings count former students who work and are not enrolled, including those who did not finish.