Best Midwestern Colleges
There are 252 ranked four-year colleges in the Midwest, evaluated with the same methodology used for our national rankings. Only nonprofit, selective four-year schools are included.
Leading our 2027 rankings is University of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois, topping our list in the Midwest. The top rated public university is University of Michigan Ann Arbor. Also highly ranked: Northwestern University, Washington University in St Louis and University of Notre Dame.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Explore the regional list below or browse individual states.
University of Missouri Columbia
- Public 4 Year
- Columbia, MO
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4.0 | 2 reviews
Mizzou is a large public university known for undergraduate journalism and agriculture. Columbia is a Midwestern college town built around the campus.
- SAT Range 1150-1330
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.61
- Acceptance Rate 78%
- Net Price $22,169
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
Miami University Oxford
- Public 4 Year
- Oxford, OH
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Miami University is a public university known for undergraduate business and education. The residential red-brick campus anchors the small college town of Oxford.
- SAT Range 1220-1390
- Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $28,229
Augustana University
- Private 4 Year
- Sioux Falls, SD
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
Augustana is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and business. The residential campus is in Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest city.
- SAT Range 1150-1370
- Avg GPA 3.76
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $24,977
Michigan Technological University
- Public 4 Year
- Houghton, MI
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
Michigan Tech is a public university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and forestry. Students attend campus in the Upper Peninsula town of Houghton near Lake Superior.
- SAT Range 1130-1350
- Avg GPA 3.78
- Acceptance Rate 92%
- Net Price $16,879
Calvin University
- Private 4 Year
- Grand Rapids, MI
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
Calvin is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and the liberal arts. The Grand Rapids campus is rooted in the Reformed tradition of the Christian Reformed Church.
- SAT Range 1083-1330
- Avg GPA 3.84
- Acceptance Rate 71%
- Net Price $25,231
Valparaiso University
- Private 4 Year
- Valparaiso, IN
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
Valparaiso is a private Lutheran university known for undergraduate engineering, meteorology, and nursing. The residential campus sits in a college town in northwest Indiana.
- SAT Range 1060-1280
- Avg GPA 3.76
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $21,766
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
College of Saint Benedict
- Private 4 Year
- Saint Joseph, MN
-
| 0 reviews
College of Saint Benedict is a private Catholic women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate nursing. Students share classes and many programs with men from nearby Saint John's University under a coordinate college system.
- SAT Range 1048-1233
- Avg GPA 3.72
- Acceptance Rate 92%
- Net Price $28,400
Saint Johns University
- Private 4 Year
- Collegeville, MN
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
Saint John's is a private Benedictine men's college known for undergraduate liberal arts. The wooded Collegeville campus centers on a historic abbey and shares academics with the nearby College of Saint Benedict.
- SAT Range 941-1228
- Avg GPA 3.51
- Acceptance Rate 91%
- Net Price $28,504
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
Cedarville University
- Private 4 Year
- Cedarville, OH
-
4.0 | 4 reviews
Cedarville is a private Baptist university known for undergraduate engineering, nursing, and biblical studies. Most undergrads complete required Bible coursework and live on the residential campus in a small Ohio town.
- SAT Range 1130-1360
- Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 65%
- Net Price $27,150
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
Rockhurst University
- Private 4 Year
- Kansas City, MO
-
| 0 reviews
- Jun 30 application deadline
Rockhurst is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and health sciences. The compact urban campus sits in Kansas City's Volker neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1116-1246
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 70%
- Net Price $25,787
The College of Saint Scholastica
- Private 4 Year
- Duluth, MN
-
| 0 reviews
St. Scholastica is a private Benedictine college known for undergraduate nursing and health sciences. The wooded campus overlooks Lake Superior in Duluth.
- SAT Range 1110-1310
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 93%
- Net Price $26,083
Hamline University
- Private 4 Year
- Saint Paul, MN
-
2.0 | 2 reviews
Hamline is a private university known for undergraduate education, business, and the liberal arts. The residential campus sits in a neighborhood setting in Saint Paul within the Twin Cities.
- SAT Range 1133-1391
- Avg GPA 3.48
- Acceptance Rate 88%
- Net Price $22,390
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
- Private 4 Year
- Omaha, NE
-
| 0 reviews
Nebraska Methodist College is a private college known for undergraduate nursing and allied health programs. The urban Omaha campus is affiliated with Methodist Health System.
- SAT Range -
- Avg GPA 3.55
- Acceptance Rate 73%
- Net Price $21,634
Baldwin Wallace University
- Private 4 Year
- Berea, OH
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
Baldwin Wallace is a private university known for undergraduate music through its conservatory, along with business and education. The suburban campus sits in Berea near Cleveland.
- SAT Range 1060-1290
- Avg GPA 3.7
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $27,991