Illinois is harder to get into (37% vs 41% admitted), and students with aid paid less there on average (in-state): $13,042 vs $16,600 a year. Illinois is due first, on Jan 5.
Highlighted = the better number: lower price or debt, higher rate or pay.
Sticker price per year (in-state at public colleges)
$29,943
$34,226
Average paid after grants (in-state at public colleges)
$16,600
$13,042
Average paid from out of state, estimated
$48,625
$33,394
What in-state families with aid paid, by income
Measure
University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Under $30,000
$3,424
$871
$30,000–$48,000
$3,837
$2,983
$48,000–$75,000
$6,026
$5,924
$75,000–$110,000
$15,839
$11,952
Over $110,000
$28,208
$29,998
After you start
Measure
University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Undergrads
36,902
36,258
Graduate within 6 years
89%
85%
Come back for year two
96%
95%
Median earnings 10 years after starting
$80,330
$87,599
Median debt at graduation
$18,375
$17,750
Highlighted only when the gap is at least 5%. "Average paid" is what students who got federal aid paid per year after grants, not a price quote; at public colleges the income rows are in-state students. The out-of-state estimate adds a public college's extra out-of-state tuition to its in-state average; out-of-state students usually get less aid, so many pay more. How we get our numbers