Top Ranked Colleges

The Best Colleges in Ranked for 2019

These are the best four year colleges in as ranked by CollegeSimply. This 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 is University of Chicago.

List of The Best Colleges & Universities in

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	545	117
4	Illinois Wesleyan University	125	511	118
5	Illinois Institute of Technology	102	369	436
6	North Central College	228	371	437
7	Wheaton College	103	1,239	70
8	Loyola University Chicago	245	811	289
9	University of Illinois at Springfield	341	320	511
10	Bradley University	294	808	213
11	School of the Art Institute of Chicago	195	778	537
12	Lewis University	464	370	457
13	University of St Francis	405	319	459
14	Millikin University	371	631	412
15	Elmhurst College	548	809	288
16	Olivet Nazarene University	465	668	658
17	Dominican University	587	632	458
18	University of Illinois at Chicago	207	1,007	718
19	Eureka College	720	543	411
20	North Park University	633	372	783
21	McKendree University	760	547	719
22	Trinity Christian College	588	1,172	438
23	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	208	974	1,065
24	Trinity International University	881	945	659
25	Monmouth College	1,024	688	629
26	Concordia University Chicago	759	943	538
27	Judson University	722	810	899
28	Benedictine University	992	544	898
29	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	507	1,328	785
30	Northern Illinois University	1,338	342	657
31	Quincy University	798	689	857
32	Eastern Illinois University	1,329	318	568
33	Greenville College	914	666	782
34	Saint Xavier University	634	944	784
35	Augustana College	1,325	469	198
36	Lake Forest College	1,333	341	325
37	Illinois State University	1,331	1,304	267
38	Western Illinois University	1,343	489	746
39	Blackburn College	1,166	487	932
40	Lincoln Christian University	1,104	546	1,125
41	Robert Morris University Illinois	1,339	690	172
42	Roosevelt University	1,150	779	1,001
43	Rockford College	1,105	239	1,414
44	Knox College	1,332	841	171
45	Illinois College	1,330	396	628
46	Moody Bible Institute	1,336	667	357
47	MacMurray College	880	488	1,307
48	DePaul University	1,327	840	387
49	Methodist College of Nursing	1,335	117	1,733
50	VanderCook College of Music	1,342	1,491	1,033

• Next 50→

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.