Skip to content
Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Town campus · verified rankings · federal data

Blackburn College

Students comparing Blackburn College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
Carlinville, Illinois471 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 49Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentResearch university

The short answer

Blackburn College: U.S. News ranks it #32 on Regional Colleges (Midwest) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #782 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1551 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 471 undergraduates, admits 63.2% of applicants, and posts a 57.5% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $28,149; aid recipients pay $18,460 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $46,802.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
63.2%

Below the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$18,460

52% below the $38,064 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$46,802

Below the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
57.5%

About the dataset median

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$24,242

About the dataset median

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
Not reportedBlackburn College reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Where Blackburn ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026Regional Colleges (Midwest)#32of 94Regional colleges (Midwest)
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#782of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#1551of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value CollegesNot ranked by this source
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: Blackburn's position moves 25 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About Blackburn

Blackburn College is a private nonprofit institution in Carlinville, Illinois. Federal data show 67.2% first-year retention and a 9:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $18,460 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $38,064 sticker cost against $18,460 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing Blackburn College on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$28,149

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
49.9%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$9,915

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $38,064 a year, but the average family pays $18,460 — a 52% difference. 49.9% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Blackburn's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    9:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    67.2%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    471

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Blackburn: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $28,149 and on-campus room and board is $9,915, for a published total of $38,064 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $18,460.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 63.2%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    Hiram College

    Hiram, OHPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Hiram College: U.S. News ranks it #9 on Regional Colleges (Midwest) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #1283 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1324 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3 stars. It enrolls 777 undergraduates, admits 93.5% of applicants, and posts a 54.5% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $27,600; aid recipients pay $21,058 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $54,311.

    Acceptance rate
    93.5%
    Average net price
    $21,058
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $54,311
    6-yr graduation rate
    54.5%
    US News · Regional colleges (Midwest)#9 of 94Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1283 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#1324 of 2,605+1 more on profile

    777 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 49 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    University of Northwestern-St Paul

    Saint Paul, MNPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    University of Northwestern-St Paul: U.S. News ranks it #35 on Regional Universities (Midwest) (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #1294 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #990 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 3.5 stars. It enrolls 1,442 undergraduates, admits 93.5% of applicants, and posts a 68.1% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $37,920; aid recipients pay $27,705 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $50,755.

    Acceptance rate
    93.5%
    Average net price
    $27,705
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $50,755
    6-yr graduation rate
    68.1%
    US News · Regional univ. (Midwest)#35 of 165Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1294 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#990 of 2,605+1 more on profile

    1,442 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 48 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Taylor University

    Upland, INPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Taylor University: U.S. News ranks it #3 on Regional Colleges (Midwest) (2026); Forbes ranks it #392 on America's Top Colleges (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #866 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #434 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #407 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 4 stars; Princeton Review lists it on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026) — Top 5 Friendliest Students. It enrolls 2,025 undergraduates, admits 73.5% of applicants, and posts a 73.8% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $40,490; aid recipients pay $24,865 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $52,198.

    Acceptance rate
    73.5%
    Average net price
    $24,865
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $52,198
    6-yr graduation rate
    73.8%
    US News · Regional colleges (Midwest)#3 of 94Forbes · Top colleges (Forbes)#392 of 500Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#866 of 1,504+4 more on profile

    2,025 undergraduates · mean consensus percentile 48 (across ranked lists; lower is better)

    Compare Blackburn against these