2026 Best Private Colleges in Illinois

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

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

Showing 1–25 of 36 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 Private Colleges

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 Private Colleges

Northwestern University

Evanston

Acceptance rate

7.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#3 Best Private Colleges

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

Acceptance rate

55.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,555

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington

Acceptance rate

45.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$52,308

Avg. Cost after Aid

$31,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest

Acceptance rate

59.4%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$50,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

DePaul University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

73.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,361

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#7 Best Private Colleges

Augustana College

Rock Island

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,039

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,723

#8 Best Private Colleges

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

81.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$46,410

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#9 Best Private Colleges

Bradley University

Peoria

Acceptance rate

76.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,940

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

Lewis University

Romeoville

Acceptance rate

72.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#11 Best Private Colleges

University of St. Francis

Joliet

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

Knox College

Galesburg

Acceptance rate

71.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$50,784

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst

Acceptance rate

75.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Dominican University

River Forest

Acceptance rate

79.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Aurora University

Aurora

Acceptance rate

85.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#16 Best Private Colleges

McKendree University

Lebanon

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,700

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,190

#17 Best Private Colleges

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 Private Colleges

Judson University

Elgin

Acceptance rate

63.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$28,840

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#19 Best Private Colleges

Millikin University

Decatur

Acceptance rate

54.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

North Park University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

72.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,380

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#21 Best Private Colleges

Saint Xavier University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

85.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,960

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#22 Best Private Colleges

Benedictine University

Lisle

Acceptance rate

77.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$30,773

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#23 Best Private Colleges

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

76.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$49,663

Avg. Cost after Aid

$49,822

#24 Best Private Colleges

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais

Acceptance rate

65.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$36,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,539

#25 Best Private Colleges

Illinois College

Jacksonville

Acceptance rate

74.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$34,752

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in Illinois

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