DePaul University

Admission to DePaul University is relatively accessible, though the institution has experienced a downward trend in national standings over the past decade. In the 2027 U.S. News Best National Universities ranking, DePaul placed 169th, having slipped from rank 120 in 2018. The university accepted 75.9% of applicants in 2025, a rate that is higher than 50% of the 30 peer private comprehensive universities in its comparison group. However, the university encounters difficulty converting offers into actual enrollments. Its yield rate in 2025 stood at just 10.8%, meaning only about one in nine admitted students chose to matriculate. This low yield indicates that while admission is broadly within reach for most applicants, DePaul frequently serves as one of several competing options rather than commanding an exceptionally strong pull over its admitted applicant pool. For prospective students, these admissions dynamics suggest that applicants with solid academic records have strong chances of acceptance, but the school must compete vigorously to secure each incoming class.

DePaul University maintains an admission test policy that is optional, where test scores are considered if submitted. For enrolled students in 2025, standardized test reporting was limited, with fewer than a third submitting SAT scores and a smaller share submitting ACT scores. Among those who submitted test results in 2025, the ACT composite range spanned from 25 to 31, while the median SAT score was 1240. When evaluated against a comparison group of similarly ranked private comprehensive universities, DePaul's SAT median is higher than 30% of peer schools. Regarding academic grades, applicant cases collected by Forward Pathway, which are unofficial data rather than institutional records, reflect a median unweighted GPA of 3.5 among admitted international students. These figures indicate that successful applicants typically present solid secondary school marks alongside test credentials that align with these middle score ranges.

Undergraduate degrees at DePaul University are broadly distributed across fields rather than concentrated in a few disciplines, with the top three bachelor's majors accounting for 23% of graduating seniors. The largest undergraduate programs by conferral are Cinematography and Film/Video Production, general finance, and psychology. However, these popular undergraduate majors are not the university's highest-ranked offerings; the school's strongest national recognition appears at the graduate level, where the 2026 U.S. News rankings placed both the real estate MBA and health care law programs at rank 27. International students represent only a small fraction of undergraduate degree recipients, but they make up substantial majorities in quantitative master's programs. Earnings data from 2023 demonstrate strong financial outcomes for technology and generalist graduates, with bachelor's degree recipients in liberal arts and sciences, general studies, and humanities reporting median first-year earnings of $91,847, while computer and information technology administration graduates earned $80,818. This alignment provides practical career pathways across Chicago's commercial and media sectors.

DePaul University enrolls a student body with distinct demographic contrasts between its undergraduate and graduate divisions. In 2025, Asian students formed a steady portion of the undergraduate population, accounting for 334 incoming first-year students, or 13% of the freshman class, alongside larger White and Hispanic groups. International enrollment among undergraduates remains limited, with international students representing 4% of the undergraduate total. In contrast, graduate programs feature a far stronger global footprint. International students constitute the second-largest demographic group at the graduate level, numbering 1,987 and comprising 28.3% of all graduate students. Asian students also maintain an established presence in advanced degree programs, accounting for 600 graduate students. For prospective applicants, these patterns indicate that undergraduate campus life at DePaul is shaped primarily by domestic students, whereas graduate degree tracks offer an academic environment with substantial international student participation.

Undergraduates at DePaul University are primarily of traditional college age. In 2025, the 20-to-21 age group was the largest cohort, accounting for 40.2% of all undergraduate students, with late teens making up another third. This concentration creates an active undergraduate atmosphere centered around regular academic terms. By contrast, the graduate division serves an older, career-focused population. Students aged 25 to 29 represent the largest graduate segment at 34.3%, accompanied by peers in their early twenties and thirties. This demographic pattern establishes two distinct campus experiences: a conventional undergraduate collegiate community and an independent, career-oriented graduate student body.

International student representation at DePaul University shows a stark divergence between undergraduate and graduate programs. At the undergraduate level, international students made up 4% of total enrollment in 2025, edging upward gradually over the past decade. In contrast, the graduate division has experienced substantial international expansion, with the international share climbing to 28.3% by 2025. This division carries directly into graduation outcomes. International students earned only a minimal fraction of undergraduate degrees, but they accounted for 35.2% of all master's degree recipients in 2025. At the master's level, international graduates are heavily concentrated in quantitative and technological fields rather than traditional management or healthcare disciplines. For instance, international students comprised 80.2% of graduates in Information Science/Studies, alongside major concentrations in business analytics and computer programming. For prospective international applicants, these patterns indicate that DePaul's global student community is largely anchored in professional graduate STEM and data programs in downtown Chicago.

Families exploring DePaul University will find several other four-year institutions within the immediate Chicago metropolitan area. Just 1.3 kilometers away, University of Illinois Chicago is a major public research institution ranked 95th among National Universities in the 2027 U.S. News rankings. Located 3.2 kilometers from DePaul, Illinois Institute of Technology is a private technological university ranked 121st in the same National Universities list. Also nearby is Loyola University Chicago, a private Catholic institution situated 8.6 kilometers away and tied at rank 121. For applicants seeking world-renowned research power, the University of Chicago sits 6.4 kilometers away on the South Side and held the 9th spot nationally in 2027. These neighboring schools provide a broad spectrum of research scope, technological focus, and campus settings right across the city.

Campus safety at DePaul University has demonstrated measurable improvement over the past decade. The institution's crime rate per 1,000 students declined from 7.7 in 2016 to 4.0 in 2025. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, the vast majority of recorded campus incidents involved internal disciplinary violations rather than violent crimes. Disciplinary referrals for liquor violations represented the largest overall category, totaling 291 incidents across those three years, accompanied by disciplinary actions for drug offenses. Among external criminal offenses, property-related incidents were the most prevalent, led by 63 reports of motor vehicle theft alongside smaller counts of robbery and burglary. Given DePaul's urban setting across Chicago, these figures reflect typical metropolitan property concerns alongside residence hall conduct violations, with violent offenses remaining relatively limited across the campus footprint.