Best Illinois Colleges
Illinois has 40 ranked four-year colleges, part of our national best colleges ranking. Rankings weigh admission scores, graduation rates, and selectivity using statistical data, not editorial picks.
Leading our 2027 rankings is University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, topping our list in Illinois. The top rated public university is University of Illinois Urbana Champaign. Also highly ranked: Northwestern University, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and Wheaton College.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Sort by tuition, acceptance rate, or enrollment to find the school that fits you.
University of Chicago
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
UChicago is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate economics and a rigorous Core Curriculum. The urban campus occupies Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Acceptance Rate 4%
- Net Price $28,060
Northwestern University
- Private 4 Year
- Evanston, IL
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Northwestern is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate journalism, communications, and theater. The Evanston campus runs along Lake Michigan just north of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.92
- Acceptance Rate 8%
- Net Price $26,830
University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
- Public 4 Year
- Champaign, IL
-
4.4 | 5 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Illinois is a highly selective public university known for undergraduate computer science and engineering. The campus spans the adjacent college towns of Champaign and Urbana.
- SAT Range 1310-1520
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $13,973
Wheaton College
- Private 4 Year
- Wheaton, IL
-
4.0 | 3 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Wheaton is a private evangelical Christian liberal arts college known for undergraduate biblical studies, theology, and the sciences. The residential campus sits in a western suburb of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1260-1470
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 87%
- Net Price $31,356
Illinois Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Bloomington, IL
-
| 0 reviews
Illinois Wesleyan is a private liberal arts university known for undergraduate music, nursing, and the sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in Bloomington in central Illinois.
- SAT Range 1120-1340
- Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 39%
- Net Price $28,644
Bradley University
- Private 4 Year
- Peoria, IL
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
Bradley is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, business, and health sciences. Most students live on the residential campus in Peoria.
- SAT Range 1090-1300
- Avg GPA 3.83
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $23,787
Loyola University Chicago
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
4.3 | 6 reviews
Loyola Chicago is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and communications. The urban campus sits along Lake Michigan on Chicago's North Side.
- SAT Range 1170-1360
- Avg GPA 3.71
- Acceptance Rate 82%
- Net Price $39,147
University of Illinois Chicago
- Public 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
UIC is a large public university known for undergraduate nursing, architecture, and engineering. The urban campus sits on Chicago's Near West Side near the Illinois Medical District.
- SAT Range 1130-1350
- Avg GPA 3.41
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $10,852
Illinois Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Mar 1 application deadline
Illinois Tech is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and computer science. The urban Chicago campus is noted for its modernist buildings by Mies van der Rohe.
- SAT Range 1180-1440
- Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 55%
- Net Price $24,796
DePaul University
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
3.3 | 3 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
DePaul is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate business, film, and theater. Its urban campuses sit in Chicago's Lincoln Park and Loop neighborhoods.
- SAT Range 1140-1330
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $34,135
Lake Forest College
- Private 4 Year
- Lake Forest, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- Feb 15 application deadline
Lake Forest is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, business, and biology. The residential campus sits in a North Shore suburb of Chicago near Lake Michigan.
- SAT Range 1190-1393
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $31,225
Knox College
- Private 4 Year
- Galesburg, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Knox is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate creative writing and the sciences. The historic campus in Galesburg includes Old Main, site of an 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debate.
- SAT Range 1180-1440
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $25,709
Augustana College
- Private 4 Year
- Rock Island, IL
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Augustana is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology and music. The campus sits along the Mississippi River in Rock Island.
- SAT Range 1030-1270
- Avg GPA 3.3
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $24,714
Elmhurst University
- Private 4 Year
- Elmhurst, IL
-
3.0 | 1 reviews
Elmhurst is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and business. The campus sits in a residential suburb west of Chicago.
- SAT Range 990-1260
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 74%
- Net Price $24,629
University of St Francis
- Private 4 Year
- Joliet, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
University of St. Francis is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and education. The campus sits in Joliet, a suburban city southwest of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1030-1220
- Avg GPA 3.47
- Acceptance Rate 65%
- Net Price $14,045
North Central College
- Private 4 Year
- Naperville, IL
-
| 0 reviews
- Apr 15 application deadline
North Central is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate business, education, and the sciences. The residential campus sits in suburban Naperville, west of Chicago.
- SAT Range 1055-1310
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $23,276
Lewis University
- Private 4 Year
- Romeoville, IL
-
| 0 reviews
Lewis is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate aviation and nursing. The suburban Romeoville campus includes its own airport used for flight training.
- SAT Range 960-1210
- Avg GPA 3.6
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $18,959
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Private 4 Year
- Chicago, IL
-
2.0 | 2 reviews
- Nov 15 application deadline
SAIC is a private art and design college known for undergraduate fine arts, design, and contemporary art practice. The urban downtown campus is connected to the Art Institute of Chicago museum.
- SAT Range 1048-1260
- Avg GPA 3.51
- Acceptance Rate 77%
- Net Price $55,631