2026 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois

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

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

Showing 1–11 of 11 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

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268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

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Proportion of need based aid received

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100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

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$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

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Mean SAT

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1200

Mean ACT

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#1 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington

Acceptance rate

45.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$52,308

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#2 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Augustana College

Rock Island

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,039

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,723

#3 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest

Acceptance rate

59.4%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$50,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#4 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Knox College

Galesburg

Acceptance rate

71.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$50,784

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#5 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#6 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Millikin University

Decatur

Acceptance rate

54.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#7 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Monmouth College

Monmouth

Acceptance rate

86.6%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$41,240

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#8 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Illinois College

Jacksonville

Acceptance rate

74.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$34,752

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#9 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Quincy University

Quincy

Acceptance rate

49.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$31,160

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#10 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

Eureka College

Eureka

Acceptance rate

88.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$27,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#11 Best Liberal Arts Colleges

East-West University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

N/A

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$21,600

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

2026 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in Illinois

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