National Louis University

Admission to National Louis University is highly accessible, though the school sees only a small fraction of admitted students enroll. In 2025, the university posted an acceptance rate of 95.1%, which was higher than 85% of peer schools in its comparison group of 30 private national universities with similar rankings. Despite the high acceptance rate, the draw among accepted applicants is modest, with an undergraduate yield rate of 18.4% in 2025. In national standings, the university's position on the US News national university rankings has moved downward over several years, placing at 382 in 2027 after ranking at 230 in 2019. For prospective students and families, these trends indicate that securing an acceptance is relatively easy, but the university has experienced a declining national standing and enrolls under a fifth of the applicants it accepts.

National Louis University follows an admission policy where test scores are not considered, meaning the review is test-blind and scores are not used even if submitted. Because standardized test results are completely excluded from the evaluation process, admission does not depend on specific SAT or ACT score benchmarks. Historical data reflects that standardized exams once played a role in admissions, with the ACT submission rate standing at 5% in 2007 and reaching 69% in 2012 before the institution adopted its current approach. With testing disregarded during the review, the university assesses academic readiness through an applicant's secondary school record, focusing on completed high school coursework and general academic performance. For families evaluating college options, this policy means an applicant's academic standing and course completion form the basis of the admissions evaluation, eliminating the influence of standardized exam results from the review process.

Undergraduate degrees at National Louis University are concentrated within a few professional tracks, notably in early education and business. In 2025, the three largest bachelor's programs accounted for 47.1% of all bachelor's degree recipients. Early Childhood Education and Teaching was the single largest major, conferring 259 degrees, followed by General Business Administration and Management. The university's largest majors do not carry high national standings; in US News rankings, undergraduate Computer Science placed at 541 in 2027, while undergraduate Psychology ranked at 474 in 2027. International student representation among undergraduates is generally low, though it reached 14.3% among graduates in General Computer and Information Sciences. In terms of early-career compensation, 2023 earnings data show that bachelor's degree recipients earned the highest median salary in Health and Medical Administrative Services at $62,311 one year after graduation.

The student body at National Louis University reached 8,915 students in 2025, characterized by a substantial post-baccalaureate population and strong racial diversity. Graduate students constituted the largest single cohort at 4,444 students. Hispanic students formed the largest ethnic group among undergraduates, making up over half of incoming freshmen. International students accounted for a modest cohort among first-year undergraduates while reaching 250 students at the graduate level. Asian student enrollment remained limited in undergraduate classes, while totaling 175 students among graduate programs. Female students represent the overwhelming majority of enrollment across all academic divisions, especially within graduate programs. Overall, the campus community consists largely of adult, female, and minority learners across both undergraduate and post-baccalaureate levels.

The student body at National Louis University features a substantial presence of older learners across both undergraduate and graduate levels. Among undergraduates in 2025, the largest age bracket was students aged 22 to 24, who made up 21% of the undergraduate population, while traditional-age students aged 18 to 19 accounted for 17.8%. In comparison, graduate programs enroll a notably mature population; among 4,030 graduate students in 2025, individuals aged 40 to 49 formed the largest segment at 24.9% of total graduate enrollment. This profile indicates a campus environment where older students represent a major share of the undergraduate student body alongside a mature graduate student population, rather than a community centered purely on students entering directly from secondary school.

International student presence at National Louis University has grown steadily over the past decade, though foreign students still represent a small portion of total enrollment. In 2025, international undergraduates accounted for 6.4% of the undergraduate population, a share that was higher than 73% of peer private national universities and marked an increase from less than one percent in 2016. At the graduate level, international students comprised 5.6% of total graduate enrollment in 2025, also rising from a fraction of a percent in 2016. When examining degrees awarded in 2025, international graduates were heavily concentrated in technical and business programs rather than the university's large teacher preparation tracks. Among bachelor's degree recipients, international students represented 14.3% of graduates in General Computer and Information Sciences and a smaller share in business administration, while accounting for zero or near-zero percent in education programs.

Applicants considering National Louis University can evaluate several other four-year institutions located within the Chicago metropolitan area. Just 0.2 kilometers away, DePaul University offers an urban campus environment and held a rank of 169 among national universities in the 2027 US News rankings. Located 1.4 kilometers away, University of Illinois Chicago is a major public research option ranked at 95. A short distance south, Illinois Institute of Technology is situated 3.4 kilometers from the campus and ranked 121 among national universities. For families exploring elite research universities in the city, University of Chicago sits 6.5 kilometers away, holding the 9th position nationally in the 2027 standings.

Campus safety records at National Louis University show low rates of reported offenses and disciplinary actions. The university's crime rate per 1,000 students stood at 0.6 in 2025, down from 1.4 in 2016. Over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, incident reports were led primarily by substance policy infractions rather than violent crimes. Specifically, the institution recorded 15 drug disciplinary referrals during those years, representing the single largest category of recorded incidents. In terms of law enforcement actions, there were 5 weapon-related arrests on campus between 2023 and 2025. Other serious violations, including robbery and domestic violence, remained in low single digits across the same timeframe. For students evaluating campus conditions, these figures reflect an environment with minimal reported criminal activity, with the vast majority of official actions involving disciplinary referrals and weapon violations.