2026 Best Return on Investment in Illinois

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

48 Illinois schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Return on Investment 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 Return on Investment

University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign

Champaign

Acceptance rate

42.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$12,254

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#2 Best Return on Investment

The University of Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

4.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,256

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#3 Best Return on Investment

University of Illinois - Chicago

Chicago

Acceptance rate

77.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,776

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,771

#4 Best Return on Investment

University of Illinois--Springfield

Springfield

Acceptance rate

85.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,645

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#5 Best Return on Investment

University of St. Francis

Joliet

Acceptance rate

63.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$35,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#6 Best Return on Investment

Northwestern University

Evanston

Acceptance rate

7.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,276

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#7 Best Return on Investment

Saint Xavier University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

85.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$33,960

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#8 Best Return on Investment

Governors State University

University Park

Acceptance rate

48.0%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$7,512

Avg. Cost after Aid

$10,000

#9 Best Return on Investment

Augustana College

Rock Island

Acceptance rate

67.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$46,039

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,723

#10 Best Return on Investment

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago

Acceptance rate

55.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,555

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#11 Best Return on Investment

Lewis University

Romeoville

Acceptance rate

72.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,270

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#12 Best Return on Investment

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Edwardsville

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,579

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#13 Best Return on Investment

Illinois State University

Normal

Acceptance rate

89.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$10,932

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#14 Best Return on Investment

Northern Illinois University

DeKalb

Acceptance rate

70.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,608

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#15 Best Return on Investment

Dominican University

River Forest

Acceptance rate

79.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,950

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#16 Best Return on Investment

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst

Acceptance rate

75.7%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#17 Best Return on Investment

Aurora University

Aurora

Acceptance rate

85.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,400

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#18 Best Return on Investment

Northeastern Illinois University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

70.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$10,091

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#19 Best Return on Investment

Southern Illinois University - Carbondale

Carbondale

Acceptance rate

86.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$9,638

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#20 Best Return on Investment

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston

Acceptance rate

67.8%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$9,207

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#21 Best Return on Investment

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$32,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#22 Best Return on Investment

Millikin University

Decatur

Acceptance rate

54.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#23 Best Return on Investment

Western Illinois University

Macomb

Acceptance rate

75.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,886

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#24 Best Return on Investment

North Park University

Chicago

Acceptance rate

72.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,380

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#25 Best Return on Investment

Concordia University Chicago

River Forest

Acceptance rate

93.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,310

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

2026 Best Return on Investment in Illinois

Best Return on Investment in nearby states

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