COLLEGES · 30-YEAR ROI · CHICAGO, IL
Is University of Chicago worth the money?
Yes — at resident pricing. A University of Chicago degree clears +$1.43M in 30-year projected net value over skipping college and investing the difference.
A private nonprofit four-year school in Chicago, Illinois, priced at its published tuition (identical in-state and out-of-state) — earnings rolled up from 26 FREOPP-reported programs.
IPEDS 2023 cost · FREOPP 2021 earnings · BEA 2023 cost-of-living · same model as /worth-it · this school clears positive net value.
- 30-year net value · resident pricing
- +$1.43M
- Median earnings · 10 yrs after entry
- $79,305
- Breaks even by age
- 47
- FREOPP program coverage
- 26 programs
University of Chicago tuition & cost
- Annual tuition · published (in- & out-of-state)
- $65,619
- Total cost of attendance (4 years, sticker)
- $339,360
Sticker tuition, before aid. Private tuition is the same in-state and out-of-state. Total cost of attendance adds fees, housing, and living costs over 4 years (IPEDS 2023).
How this is computed (and what it isn’t)
University of Chicago runs through the /worth-it model at its published tuition, with the standard loan assumptions, a 30-year horizon, and Illinois’s own cost-of-living on the skip-college path. The “30-year net value” is the projected accumulated value of going vs. skipping and investing the difference, in real dollars.
What it isn’t: a verdict on every major. The school-level number averages across 26 FREOPP-reported programs — the field you pick swings it by over a million dollars on its own. We only publish school pages that clear positive net value at resident pricing; earnings roll up from at least three FREOPP programs (ADR-0032), so a single high-earning major can’t fake the number.
Questions
- Is University of Chicago worth the money?
- At resident pricing, yes: University of Chicago clears +$1.43M in 30-year projected net value versus skipping college and investing the difference. That is computed from a total cost of attendance of $339,360 and median earnings of $79,305 ten years after entry (IPEDS 2023 cost, FREOPP 2021 earnings, BEA 2023 cost-of-living — the same model as the LE TEEN calculator).
- How much is tuition at University of Chicago?
- University of Chicago's annual sticker tuition is $65,619, the same in-state and out-of-state, before financial aid. Total cost of attendance over 4 years — tuition plus fees, housing, and living costs — is $339,360 (IPEDS 2023).
- What is the total cost of University of Chicago?
- Over 4 years, University of Chicago's sticker cost of attendance is $339,360 — tuition, fees, housing, and living costs at Illinois prices, before financial aid. Median earnings ten years after entry are $79,305.
- How long until a University of Chicago degree pays for itself?
- The degree path overtakes the skip-college path around age 47 under our defaults — from there the gap only widens, ending +$1.43M ahead at the 30-year horizon.
- What could change the number for University of Chicago?
- Tuition at a private is the same wherever you're from, so the big lever is the major: the field you pick swings lifetime ROI by over a million dollars on its own (see the majors pages). Loan share and time horizon move it too — both are editable on the calculator.
Keep going
Cite this:
LE TEEN (2026). “Is University of Chicago worth the money? 30-year ROI.” Data: IPEDS 2023 · FREOPP 2021 · BEA 2023. https://le-teen.com/colleges/university-of-chicago