Illinois State University supplemental essays
Yes, but every one is optional. Illinois State University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Personal statement optional.
That is one supplement plus the the application personal statement: at most two pieces of writing in all. The prompts carry this limit: approximately 500 words. Every Illinois State University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
The essays, 2026-27
Optional · approximately 500 words
If you would like to submit a personal statement, your submission should be approximately 500 words in length and address the contributions you are prepared to make to our community, both academically and otherwise. Specifically, your statement should: Identify any circumstances that affected your high school academic performance, if applicable; Make clear your commitment to academic success in college, acknowledging your strengths and weaknesses and your plans to utilize available resources; Articulate your readiness to engage productively in our campus community outside the classroom.
All applicants may submit this; it is not required to complete the application, though Illinois State may request one later if further review is needed to make an admission decision.
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Your Illinois State University checklist
One supplement, optional.
- Personal statementOptional
- SupplementOptionalapproximately 500 words
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Getting into Illinois State University
Illinois State University admits 88.1% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 990-1210 on the SAT and 21-27 on the ACT.
About 9 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 19,057 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 990 | 1100 | 1210 |
| SAT reading and writing | 500 | 560 | 620 |
| SAT math | 490 | 540 | 590 |
| ACT composite | 21 | 24 | 27 |
What SAT score do you need for Illinois State University?
A 1210 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1100 at their midpoint, and a 990 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 21, 24 and 27. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Illinois State University?
- Illinois State University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 990-1210 on the SAT: a 990 sits at the 25th percentile, 1100 at the median and 1210 at the 75th. A score at or above 1210 is a clear strength in the application; below 990 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Illinois State University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Illinois State University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 21-27 on the ACT, with a composite of 24 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 21. Reported by Illinois State University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Illinois State University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Illinois State University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Illinois State University admits 88.1% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Illinois State University?
- Illinois State University admits 88.1% of the people who apply, which is about 9 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What Illinois State University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Illinois State University essay questions, answered
- Does Illinois State University have supplemental essays?
- Yes, but every one is optional. Illinois State University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: approximately 500 words.
- How many essays do you write for Illinois State University in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the the application personal statement if you choose to send it.
Schools with similar admit rates
Illinois State University admits 88.1% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Oakland University (87.8%), Georgia Southern University (87.9%), Montclair State University (87.9%), University of Oregon (88.3%), Colorado State University (88.5%), Iowa State University (88.7%).