Principia College

University overview

Editorial View

Location, editorial summary, and verified institutional context.

Located in Elsah, Illinois, Principia College is on the southern side of the state, about an hour north of St. Louis. Because Principia (pronounced prin-CHIPPY-uh) is a Christian Scientist college, it is one of the smallest liberal arts colleges in America. To be clear, the Chris...

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Admissions

Verified Data

Selectivity, enrollment funnel, and reported test score ranges from verified federal data.

Institution type

Private nonprofit

Carnegie

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Setting

Fringe rural

Admit rate (84%)

Yield estimate (68%)

Applicants

138

Admits

116

First-time enrollment cohort

SAT ERW: 518–593

SAT Math: 510–600

ACT: 21–28

Academics

Verified Data

Enrollment scale, calendar structure, and outcome-linked academic signals.

Total students

321

321 students

Calendar

semester

Academic calendar

Graduation rate

86%

Reported outcomes

Retention rate

81%

First-year retention

Carnegie classification

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Cost and affordability

Verified Data

Tuition, net price, and aid signals sourced from federal reporting where available.

Average net price

N/A

After grants and scholarships for in-state students where reported.

In-state tuition$5

Out-of-state tuition$32,820

Institutional grant participation100%

Pell share0%

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Campus life

Verified Data

Culture percentile bands describe student life intensity across common fit dimensions.

Campus culture bands are not yet available for Principia College. Theme attributes and athletics may still appear under Special Features.

Rankings and recognition

Verified Data

CollegesRef does not invent magazine-style ranks. This section surfaces verified classification data and editorial context only.

Carnegie classification

A Liberal Arts College or College with an Arts & Sciences focus

Institutional classification used for academic peer grouping.

Athletics

NCAA Division III

NCAA division where available from verified imports.

Editorial spotlight

Principia College — editorial overview (Elsah, IL)

Outcomes and after college

Verified Data

Verified outcomes from imported federal datasets. Editorial interpretation may supplement these facts elsewhere on the profile.

Median earnings

N/A

Median earnings where reported by federal outcomes data.

Retention rate

81%

First-year student retention.

Graduation rate

86%

Students graduating within 150% of normal time.

Student reviews

Editorial View

User-submitted reviews are not fabricated for launch. This report card summarizes verified data signals until moderated student voices are available.

Data report card

Admissions selectivityD

Graduation outcomesA

RetentionB

Editorial depthB+

Principia College

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Special features

Verified Data

Curated theme attributes and athletics context that distinguish campus character.

Enrolls a High Percentage of International Students

Athletics

NCAA Division III

Sources and data freshness

Verified Data

Legacy CLGS importLast verified 2026-06-29T06:07:09+00:00

CollegesRef separates verified federal and institutional data from editorial interpretation. Personalized AI matching is available via Colleges Like This.

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