North Central College — admissions, outcomes, merit aid & scholarships

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Match

Solid match for academically prepared students.

✅ Best for

Students focused on Business, Management, & Marketing (the school's signature program)
Families wanting a small liberal-arts experience

🎯 The reality

Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 1065, or ACT below 23 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification

M3: Master's - Smaller Programs

Total enrollment

2,428

1,000 - 4,999

In-state tuition

$45,726

sticker, before aid

Tuition

$45,726

flat rate (no in/out-of-state split)

Admit rate

58.3%

Moderately selective

SAT middle 50%

1065–1280

EBRW + Math composite

ACT middle 50%

23–27

composite

Test policy

Test-optional

2023

10-yr earnings

$60,123

median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry

$51,762

Earnings, 10 yrs after entry

$60,123

4-year completion

64%

Median debt (completers)

$24,500

Cost of attendance

$57,219

sticker price, not net

Pell-eligible students

24%

💰 True ROI

7.1× return

What families actually pay (after aid) vs. the sticker — and how 10-yr earnings stack against the real cost. Most sites quote sticker; we quote what families really pay.

What families actually pay (4 yrs)

$84,176

$21,044/yr avg net

Aid that hides behind the sticker

$144,700

vs sticker $228,876

10-yr earnings total

$601,230

$60,123/yr median, 10 yrs out

Years to recoup actual cost

1.4 yrs

at the median earnings rate

"True ROI" = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (actual 4-yr net price). The actual net is from Scorecard (average across all families); your family's net price will vary by income — see the breakdown above. Earnings are 10 years after enrollment (Scorecard PP-FOS, all majors combined).

💰 What families actually pay

Net price by family income

Net price = sticker price minus grant aid. This is what families actually pay out-of-pocket after scholarships and need-based aid — the most honest affordability signal there is. At North Central College, the average net price is $21,044/yr across all families.

Family income $0-30k

$12,507/yr

Family income $30-48k

$13,486/yr

Family income $48-75k

$16,362/yr

Family income $75-110k

$20,590/yr

Family income $110k+

$26,961/yr

🔎 Earning over $110K? The federal brackets above lump every family from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Need-based aid usually phases out somewhere between $200K and $300K at private colleges — but the exact threshold varies a lot. For a precise estimate based on your family's actual income, assets, and your student's academic profile, use North Central College's official Net Price Calculator:

Get your family's estimate from North Central College →

Opens on North Central College's site. Takes about 10–15 minutes; have your most recent tax return handy.

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41-NPT45). Net price = total cost of attendance minus federal, state, institutional, and other grants. Some brackets may be suppressed for student-privacy reasons (small cohorts). Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates only. The $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — Department of Education hasn't refreshed these brackets since the early 2010s.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at North Central College

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what North Central College actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing

151 degrees · 42.3%

Typical career outcomes

Financial Analyst $100k Management Analyst (Consultant) $99k Marketing Manager $158k Accountant / Auditor $80k

Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.

2. Psychology

67 degrees · 18.8%

Typical career outcomes

HR Specialist $68k Market Research Analyst $75k Clinical Psychologist (post-PhD) $93k Social Worker $58k

Most undergrad psych grads go into non-clinical roles. Clinical/counseling psych requires a master's or doctoral.

3. Social Sciences

51 degrees · 14.3%

Typical career outcomes

Economist $118k Political Scientist $130k Sociologist $93k Market Research Analyst $75k

Economics + poli sci sub-disciplines pay much more than sociology + anthropology.

4. Parks, Recreation, Leisure, & Fitness

49 degrees · 13.7%

Typical career outcomes

Athletic Trainer $58k Fitness Trainer / Coach $46k Recreation Director $65k

Coaching, athletic training, public-sector recreation, fitness industry.

5. Visual & Performing Arts

39 degrees · 10.9%

Typical career outcomes

Graphic Designer $59k Art Director $106k Multimedia Artist / Animator $99k Musician / Singer $39k

Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.

Source: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a), bachelor's-level first majors aggregated to 2-digit CIP family. Share is of these top 5 only — not all majors.

💼 Top programs by earnings

Highest-earning majors at North Central College

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major (CIP code). From the federal College Scorecard program-level outcomes.

Major (CIP)	Credential	Cohort	1-yr earnings	4-yr earnings
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods.	Bachelor's Degree	5	$85,168	$105,350
Finance and Financial Management Services.	Bachelor's Degree	31	$51,420	$81,562
Economics.	Bachelor's Degree	15	$52,728	$80,494
Computer Science.	Bachelor's Degree	19	$53,544	$79,877
Accounting and Related Services.	Bachelor's Degree	37	$58,717	$78,125
Human Resources Management and Services.	Bachelor's Degree	10	$53,587	$71,555
Marketing.	Bachelor's Degree	43	$45,464	$71,123
Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations.	Bachelor's Degree	12	—	$68,750
Business Administration, Management and Operations.	Bachelor's Degree	33	$44,934	$65,992
Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication.	Bachelor's Degree	8	$48,549	$60,573

For full college-vs-major comparison + ROI leaderboards, see /college-outcomes →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at North Central College

CS degrees (annual)

24

CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

⚖️ Compare side-by-side

North Central College vs. another college

Type the college you want to compare against. We'll show admit rates, net price by your family income, top majors with career outcomes, and merit aid — all in one side-by-side view.

Alternatives to North Central College

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options

These similar-selectivity schools have published auto-merit grids that North Central College doesnt — your kids scores could unlock real scholarship dollars.

University of Alabama in Huntsville

AL · Public

39 auto-merit scholarships on file

Texas Tech University

TX · Public

31 auto-merit scholarships on file

The University of Alabama

AL · Public

23 auto-merit scholarships on file

Mississippi State University

MS · Public

19 auto-merit scholarships on file