Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) vs Rice University

Envision yourself pursuing higher education at either Illinois Wesleyan University or Rice University, two esteemed institutions with distinct characteristics. Illinois Wesleyan, nestled in the heart of Bloomington, Illinois, offers a close-knit community with a focus on liberal arts education, while Rice University, situated in the vibrant city of Houston, Texas, emphasizes research and innovation in a wide range of disciplines. As you embark on this side-by-side comparison, delve into the nuances that set these universities apart, from their acceptance rates and popular majors to student body demographics and graduation rates. Discover which university aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences, ensuring that your undergraduate journey is both fulfilling and transformative.
Illinois Wesleyan University logo

Illinois Wesleyan University

Rice University logo

Rice University

Overview

Location Bloomington, Illinois Houston, Texas
Campus setting City: Small City: Large
College type 4 year 4 year
Control/business model Private (Non Profit) Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system 4-1-4 Semester
Degrees offered Undergraduate Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate 85.0% 97.0%
Common app member Yes Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission

Acceptance rate 45.2% 9.5%
Application fees
Undergraduate: $75

Graduate: $85
SAT range 1110 - 1310 1490 - 1570
ACT range 24 - 29 34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score 33.0% 46.0%
Students submitting ACT score 31.0% 29.0%
Total number of applicants 4,543 29,544
Total number of admissions given out 2,055 2,802
Admitted students who chose to enroll 432 1,226
Yield rate 21.0% 43.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT) N/A N/A
High school GPA Not required Not required
Recommendation letters Required Required
High school transcript Not required Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL) Required Required

Tuition and Fees

Sticker price $67,124 $71,745
Average net price $30,610 $18,521
Tuition $52,308 $52,070
Room & board
Room/dormitory: $7,584

Meal plan: $4,528
Room/dormitory: $10,100

Meal plan: $4,700
Available payment plans
  • Tuition payment plan
  • Prepaid tuition plan
  • Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid

Students receiving financial aid

(Grants & scholarships)

100.0%
Average amount $34,810
61.0%
Average amount $51,036
Students receiving federal student loan 68.0%
Average amount $5,692
9.0%
Average amount $4,982
Students taking out private loans 35.0%
Average amount $6,781
2.0%
Average amount $24,340

Students and Campus

Undergraduate students 1,653
Men 49.4% Women 50.6%
4,247
Men 51.5% Women 48.5%
Graduate students N/A 4,038
Men 63.9% Women 36.1%
Racial/ethnic diversity
Low
Moderate
Out-of-state students N/A 56.1%
International students 3.4% 25.5%
Campus local/setting City: Small City: Large
Dormitory capacity 1,308 3,533
First year students are required to live on campus? No No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from N/A Texas California New York Florida Illinois

Academics

Popular study areas
  • Business
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences
  • Health Professions
  • Education
  • Visual & Performing Arts
  • Business
  • Engineering
  • Computer and Information Science
  • Social Sciences
  • Physical Science
Students to faculty ratio 12:1 6:1
Institutional accreditation Higher Learning Commission Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome

Graduation rate 81.1% 92.3%
Dropout rate 18.7% 6.9%
Transferred out N/A N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)
Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $57,305
  • Year 2: $53,358
  • Year 3: $77,743
Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $61,838
  • Year 2: $62,792
  • Year 3: $73,001
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $66,460
  • Year 2: $62,775
  • Year 3: $69,764
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $45,302
  • Year 2: $50,356
  • Year 3: $56,336
Biology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $26,739
  • Year 3: $46,139
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $32,272
  • Year 2: $31,314
  • Year 3: $39,988
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $18,075
  • Year 2: $20,140
  • Year 3: $30,321
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $61,516
  • Year 3: N/A
Music (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $27,439
  • Year 3: N/A
Sociology (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $36,674
  • Year 3: N/A
Computer and Information Sciences, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $122,770
  • Year 2: $129,481
  • Year 3: $145,256
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $128,659
  • Year 2: $127,993
  • Year 3: $134,258
Chemical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $78,801
  • Year 2: $83,915
  • Year 3: $92,763
Economics (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $87,989
  • Year 2: $72,884
  • Year 3: $81,590
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $70,400
  • Year 2: $68,219
  • Year 3: $76,594
History (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $49,840
  • Year 3: $61,295
Political Science and Government (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: N/A
  • Year 2: $50,231
  • Year 3: $59,421
Health and Physical Education/Fitness (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $38,232
  • Year 2: $35,060
  • Year 3: $52,284
English Language and Literature, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $28,009
  • Year 2: $46,087
  • Year 3: $46,363
Psychology, General (Bachelor's Degrees)
  • Year 1: $31,474
  • Year 2: $30,119
  • Year 3: $45,615

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Occidental College Occidental College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Pomona College Pomona College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Scripps College Scripps College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Connecticut College Connecticut College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Trinity College Trinity College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Wesleyan University Wesleyan University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Rollins College Rollins College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Agnes Scott College Agnes Scott College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Augustana College Augustana College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Lake Forest College Lake Forest College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs North Central College North Central College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Principia College Principia College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Wheaton College Wheaton College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Earlham College Earlham College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Cornell College Cornell College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Grinnell College Grinnell College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Saint Ambrose University Saint Ambrose University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Goucher College Goucher College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Williams College Williams College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Albion College Albion College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Calvin University Calvin University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Hope College Hope College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs College of Saint Benedict College of Saint Benedict
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Saint Johns University Saint Johns University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Drew University Drew University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Colgate University Colgate University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Hamilton College Hamilton College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs University of Rochester University of Rochester
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Union College Union College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Davidson College Davidson College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Elon University Elon University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Wake Forest University Wake Forest University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Reed College Reed College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Dickinson College Dickinson College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Haverford College Haverford College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Susquehanna University Susquehanna University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Swarthmore College Swarthmore College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Rice University Rice University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Middlebury College Middlebury College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs University of Richmond University of Richmond
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Beloit College Beloit College
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Concordia University-Wisconsin Concordia University-Wisconsin
Illinois Wesleyan University IWU vs Northland College Northland College
Rice University Rice vs Samford University Samford University
Rice University Rice vs California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology
Rice University Rice vs University of California-Berkeley University of California-Berkeley
Rice University Rice vs Harvey Mudd College Harvey Mudd College
Rice University Rice vs University of Southern California University of Southern California
Rice University Rice vs Northwestern University Northwestern University
Rice University Rice vs University of Notre Dame University of Notre Dame
Rice University Rice vs Tulane University of Louisiana Tulane University of Louisiana
Rice University Rice vs Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University
Rice University Rice vs University of Maryland-College Park University of Maryland-College Park
Rice University Rice vs United States Naval Academy United States Naval Academy
Rice University Rice vs Boston College Boston College
Rice University Rice vs Brandeis University Brandeis University
Rice University Rice vs Harvard University Harvard University
Rice University Rice vs Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Rice University Rice vs Wellesley College Wellesley College
Rice University Rice vs University of Michigan-Ann Arbor University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Rice University Rice vs Washington University in St Louis Washington University in St Louis
Rice University Rice vs Dartmouth College Dartmouth College
Rice University Rice vs Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
Rice University Rice vs Cornell University Cornell University
Rice University Rice vs The New School The New School
Rice University Rice vs New York University New York University
Rice University Rice vs Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rice University Rice vs United States Military Academy United States Military Academy
Rice University Rice vs Duke University Duke University
Rice University Rice vs University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Rice University Rice vs University of Tulsa University of Tulsa
Rice University Rice vs Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University
Rice University Rice vs Lehigh University Lehigh University
Rice University Rice vs Brown University Brown University
Rice University Rice vs Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University
Rice University Rice vs Baylor University Baylor University
Rice University Rice vs University of Richmond University of Richmond
Rice University Rice vs The Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University