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Private nonprofit · Rural campus · verified rankings · federal data

Principia College

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

CompareOfficial site
Elsah, Illinois339 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 45Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentResearch university

The short answer

Principia College: U.S. News ranks it #66 on National Liberal Arts Colleges (2026); Niche ranks it #1513 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026). It enrolls 339 undergraduates, admits not reported of applicants, and posts a 74.3% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $34,680; aid recipients pay not reported on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: not reported.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
Not reportedNot reported by Principia College in the most recent federal collection.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Average net price
Not reportedPrincipia College does not participate in federal student aid programs, so the Department of Education does not calculate an average net price for it. Compare its published cost of attendance against other schools' net prices with care: they are not the same measure.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Median earnings, 10 yrs
Not reportedScorecard earnings are derived from federal student aid records, which Principia College students do not appear in. No federal earnings figure exists for this college.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

6-year graduation rate
74.3%

Above the dataset median of 56%

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

Median debt at graduation
Not reportedPrincipia College students cannot borrow federal student loans, because the college does not participate in federal student aid programs. Its reported federal loan debt is therefore zero by construction rather than by outcome.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

SAT middle 50%
Not reportedPrincipia College did not report an SAT score range for its most recent entering class.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Where Principia 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 News2026National Liberal Arts Colleges#66of 210Liberal arts colleges
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) DollarsNot ranked by this source
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#1513of 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: Principia's position moves 27 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 Principia

Principia College is a private nonprofit institution in Elsah, Illinois. Federal data show 83.1% first-year retention and a 5:1 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 not reported 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 $48,590 sticker cost against not reported 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 Principia 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
$34,680

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

Undergraduates on Pell grants
Not reportedThis share is calculated from federal student aid applications, which Principia College does not participate in.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Room & board
$13,910

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

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $48,590 a year. Principia College does not participate in federal student aid programs, so the Department of Education does not calculate an average net price for it. Compare its published cost of attendance against other schools' net prices with care: they are not the same measure.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run Principia'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
    5:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    83.1%

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

    Undergraduate enrollment
    339

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

    Principia: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $34,680 and on-campus room and board is $13,910, for a published total of $48,590 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is not reported.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is not reported. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

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