Top Rated Midwest Private Colleges
These are the top ranked private four-year colleges in the Midwest. Leading the rankings for 2027 as the highest ranked private college in the Midwest is University of Chicago. Learn how the Best Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.
Hope College
- Private 4 Year
- Holland, MI
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3.8 | 4 reviews
Hope is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate chemistry, biology, and education. The residential campus sits in Holland near the Lake Michigan shore.
- SAT Range 1100-1340
- Avg GPA 3.83
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $30,700
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
Concordia College at Moorhead
- Private 4 Year
- Moorhead, MN
-
| 0 reviews
Concordia College is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate music and education. Most students live on the residential campus in Moorhead, across the river from Fargo.
- SAT Range 1160-1420
- Avg GPA 3.58
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $25,190
University of Detroit Mercy
- Private 4 Year
- Detroit, MI
-
| 0 reviews
- Mar 1 application deadline
Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate architecture, engineering, and nursing. The urban campus sits in northwest Detroit.
- SAT Range 1030-1260
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 75%
- Net Price $16,790
Xavier University
- Private 4 Year
- Cincinnati, OH
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
Xavier is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business and nursing. The urban campus sits in Cincinnati's North Avondale neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1103-1310
- Avg GPA 3.68
- Acceptance Rate 86%
- Net Price $33,623
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
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
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
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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