2026 Best Colleges in Illinois

Name: 2026 Best Colleges in Illinois (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

48 U.S. schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Colleges in Illinois ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 48 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Colleges in Illinois

The University of Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

4.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,256

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#2 Best Colleges in Illinois

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

Champaign

Acceptance rate

42.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$12,254

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#3 Best Colleges in Illinois

Northwestern University

Evanston

Acceptance rate

7.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#4 Best Colleges in Illinois

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

Acceptance rate

55.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,555

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#5 Best Colleges in Illinois

Augustana College

Rock Island

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,039

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,723

#6 Best Colleges in Illinois

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington

Acceptance rate

45.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$52,308

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#7 Best Colleges in Illinois

University of Illinois - Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

77.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,776

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,771

#8 Best Colleges in Illinois

Bradley University

Peoria

Acceptance rate

76.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,940

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#9 Best Colleges in Illinois

Lewis University

Romeoville

Acceptance rate

72.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#10 Best Colleges in Illinois

DePaul University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

73.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,361

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#11 Best Colleges in Illinois

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

81.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$46,410

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#12 Best Colleges in Illinois

University of Illinois--Springfield

Springfield

Acceptance rate

85.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,645

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#13 Best Colleges in Illinois

Illinois State University

Normal

Acceptance rate

89.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,932

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#14 Best Colleges in Illinois

Dominican University

River Forest

Acceptance rate

79.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#15 Best Colleges in Illinois

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest

Acceptance rate

59.4%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$50,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#16 Best Colleges in Illinois

University of St. Francis

Joliet

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#17 Best Colleges in Illinois

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#18 Best Colleges in Illinois

Saint Xavier University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

85.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,960

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#19 Best Colleges in Illinois

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst

Acceptance rate

75.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#20 Best Colleges in Illinois

Aurora University

Aurora

Acceptance rate

85.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#21 Best Colleges in Illinois

Knox College

Galesburg

Acceptance rate

71.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$50,784

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#22 Best Colleges in Illinois

Millikin University

Decatur

Acceptance rate

54.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#23 Best Colleges in Illinois

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,579

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#24 Best Colleges in Illinois

Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

Acceptance rate

70.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,608

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#25 Best Colleges in Illinois

North Park University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

72.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,380

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

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