Top Ranked Illinois Colleges

The Best Colleges in Illinois Ranked for 2019

These are the best four year colleges in Illinois as ranked by CollegeSimply. This Illinois ranking is a subset of our national ranking of the best colleges in America. Our ranking methodology is purely statistical and not subjective in nature. Measuring factors include but are not limited to: student body intellect as indicated by admission scores, graduation rate and admission selectivity. In order to be considered for the ranking, a school must offer four year undergraduate degrees, selectively admit students and be a non-profit institution. Leading the 2019 ranking as the best college in Illinois is University of Chicago.

List of The Best Colleges & Universities in Illinois

Rank	College	National Academic Rank1	National Selectivity Rank2	National Graduation Rank3
1	University of Chicago	3	12	28
2	Northwestern University	16	13	17
3	University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign	42	565	117
4	Illinois Wesleyan University	125	531	118
5	Illinois Institute of Technology	102	381	436
6	North Central College	228	383	437
7	Wheaton College	103	1,288	70
8	University of Illinois at Springfield	341	331	511
9	Loyola University Chicago	245	840	289
10	Bradley University	294	837	213
11	School of the Art Institute of Chicago	195	807	537
12	Lewis University	464	382	457
13	University of St Francis	405	330	459
14	Millikin University	371	657	412
15	Elmhurst College	548	838	288
16	Olivet Nazarene University	465	695	658
17	Dominican University	587	658	458
18	University of Illinois at Chicago	207	1,043	718
19	Eureka College	720	563	411
20	North Park University	633	384	783
21	McKendree University	760	567	719
22	Trinity Christian College	588	1,216	438
23	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	208	1,009	1,065
24	Trinity International University	881	979	659
25	Monmouth College	1,024	715	629
26	Concordia University Chicago	759	977	538
27	Benedictine University	992	564	898
28	Judson University	722	839	899
29	Northern Illinois University	1,338	353	657
30	Eastern Illinois University	1,329	329	568
31	Quincy University	798	716	857
32	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	507	1,385	785
33	Greenville College	914	693	782
34	Saint Xavier University	634	978	784
35	Augustana College	1,325	487	198
36	Lake Forest College	1,333	352	325
37	Illinois State University	1,331	1,357	267
38	Western Illinois University	1,343	507	746
39	Blackburn College	1,166	505	932
40	Lincoln Christian University	1,104	566	1,125
41	Robert Morris University Illinois	1,339	717	172
42	Roosevelt University	1,150	808	1,001
43	Rockford College	1,105	247	1,414
44	Illinois College	1,330	409	628
45	Knox College	1,332	873	171
46	Moody Bible Institute	1,336	694	357
47	MacMurray College	880	506	1,307
48	DePaul University	1,327	872	387
49	Methodist College of Nursing	1,335	122	1,733
50	VanderCook College of Music	1,342	1,568	1,033

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Ranking Methodology

Overall Rank is calculated based on the following school characteristics.

¹National Academic Rank is calculated using standardized test admission data as well as GPA data for admitted freshman.
²National Selectivity Rank is based on admission selectivity for incoming students starting the 2016-2017 academic year.
³National Graduation Rank is based on the percentage of students graduating with bachelor's degrees within six years.