2026 Best Research Universities in Illinois

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

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

Showing 1–16 of 16 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

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

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$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

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#1 Best Research Universities

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 Research Universities

Northwestern University

Evanston

Acceptance rate

7.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#3 Best Research Universities

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

Champaign

Acceptance rate

42.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$12,254

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#4 Best Research Universities

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 Research Universities

DePaul University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

73.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,361

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#6 Best Research Universities

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

81.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$46,410

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#7 Best Research Universities

Bradley University

Peoria

Acceptance rate

76.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,940

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#8 Best Research Universities

University of St. Francis

Joliet

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#9 Best Research Universities

University of Illinois - Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

77.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,776

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,771

#10 Best Research Universities

Illinois State University

Normal

Acceptance rate

89.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,932

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#11 Best Research Universities

Aurora University

Aurora

Acceptance rate

85.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#12 Best Research Universities

Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

Acceptance rate

70.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,608

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#13 Best Research Universities

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,579

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#14 Best Research Universities

Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Carbondale

Acceptance rate

86.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,638

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#15 Best Research Universities

Roosevelt University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

94.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,493

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#16 Best Research Universities

National Louis University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

93.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$13,419

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

2026 Best Research Universities in Illinois

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