Aurora University

In the 2027 U.S. News ranking, Aurora University placed at 262, reflecting an upward trend after sitting at 331 in 2023. Gaining admission is relatively accessible. For 2025, the university admitted 80.9% of its applicants, placing its acceptance rate higher than 47% of 30 private comprehensive universities with similar rankings. Meanwhile, its yield rate stood at 15.6%, higher than 53% of those peer institutions. This modest yield rate indicates that only a small portion of admitted students ultimately choose to enroll, a common dynamic for regional private universities where applicants often weigh multiple competing offers. For prospective students, Aurora represents an accessible option with improving national standing, though its low yield suggests that families treat it as one of several practical alternatives during the college selection process.

Academic profiles among incoming students at Aurora University reflect moderate testing benchmarks alongside steady secondary school performance. For the 2025 entering cohort, the median SAT score was 1055, which was lower than all peer schools in a comparison group of 19 reporting private universities. Standardized test reporting has become relatively sparse among enrollees, with only 18% submitting SAT scores in 2025. Admissions review relies substantially on high school performance, where admitted students show solid classroom consistency. During the 2023–2024 academic cycle, 18.7% of entering students held a 4.0 high school GPA, while a significant portion of the cohort graduated in the upper tiers of their secondary classes. For prospective applicants, competitive test scores are not required to secure a place, but presenting a solid secondary school grade record remains the most reliable pathway to admission.

Degrees awarded at Aurora University are heavily concentrated within applied human services and pre-professional careers. In 2025, the three largest undergraduate programs—Social Work, General Business Administration and Management, and Registered Nursing—accounted for 39.4% of all 1,240 bachelor degrees granted. Social Work was also the university's largest graduate program, awarding 551 master degrees that year. None of Aurora's academic offerings place within top national ranks on US News ranking lists, meaning applicant interest is guided by professional utility rather than elite reputational standing. Post-graduation compensation demonstrates tangible variance depending on the discipline. According to 2023 earnings data measured one year after graduation, alumni who completed registered nursing credentials led with median earnings of $76,950, whereas business administration graduates reported median earnings of $52,634. International students make up an extremely small footprint among degree recipients, representing just 0.3% of bachelor graduates and none of the master or doctoral cohorts.

Aurora University enrolls a student body primarily composed of domestic Hispanic and White students, with minimal representation from Asian and international populations. Women constitute a clear majority across both undergraduate and graduate cohorts. Asian students represent only a small minority across all divisions, including 89 continuing undergraduates who make up 3.3% of their group. International students have an even smaller footprint on campus, accounting for 20 continuing undergraduates, or 0.7% of that group, and only 1 graduate student in 2025. Transfer cohorts and incoming freshman classes follow this same pattern, with foreign and Asian students rarely exceeding a few percent of enrollment. For prospective applicants, these demographics show that campus life is overwhelmingly domestic and regional. Families seeking a college environment with a sizable international or Asian student presence should consider that such groups form a very modest part of Aurora's overall community.

Undergraduate education at Aurora University centers on traditional-age college students, while graduate studies cater to a wide cross-section of working adults. In 2025, undergraduates aged 20 to 21 constituted the largest single demographic at 35%, followed closely by those aged 18 to 19 at 32.2%. In contrast, the graduate division exhibits an older, career-established age profile. Students aged 25 to 29 formed the largest segment among graduate attendees at 23.3%, alongside significant representation from students aged 40 and older. This clear generational split suggests that undergraduate campus activities revolve around young adults, whereas graduate programs operate to serve mature adults balancing degree completion with ongoing employment obligations.

Aurora University maintains a very small international student presence across both degree levels. At the undergraduate level, the international share has trended upward over the past decade, reaching 0.7% in 2025. Even with that growth, this undergraduate proportion is higher than only 17% of peer schools among similarly ranked private comprehensive universities. In graduate programs, international enrollment has trended downward over time, falling to 0.1% of all graduate students in 2025. Degree completion data reflects this minimal representation. In 2025, international students accounted for just 0.3% of bachelor's degree recipients, with representation in Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse, while major undergraduate disciplines such as Social Work and Business Administration and Management, General had none. At the graduate level, master's and doctoral programs produced zero international graduates. For prospective international applicants, these figures mean that academic cohorts consist almost entirely of domestic students, offering very few international peers in any program of study.

Families exploring higher education options around Aurora have several institutions within driving distance across northeastern Illinois. Located just 15.2 kilometers away, Wheaton College is a private liberal arts college holding a rank of 57 in the 2027 US News rankings. For another private master's and doctoral option, University of St Francis sits 20.1 kilometers from campus and is ranked 276 among national universities. Closer to the city of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago provides a large public research university setting 36.9 kilometers away, ranked 95 among national universities in 2027. Nearby, Illinois Institute of Technology is located 37.6 kilometers from Aurora and holds a national university rank of 121. These nearby campuses provide diverse educational settings within roughly 40 kilometers of Aurora.

Campus safety indicators at Aurora University show low rates of reported criminal offenses over recent years. Forward Pathway's weighted crime rate per 1,000 students declined from 4.4 in 2016 down to 1.5 in 2025, reflecting an overall downward trend across the decade. Disciplinary infractions related to substance policies make up the bulk of documented activity on campus. Specifically, cumulative category totals from 2023 to 2025 show that campus authorities recorded 43 liquor referrals, representing the largest single category of incidents across those three years. Reports of violent or intimate partner crimes occurred in isolated instances during the same 2023 to 2025 period, including 3 reports of rape and 3 domestic violence incidents. For families reviewing campus life, institutional security records reflect an environment where minor substance policy violations predominate over severe incidents.