Best Colleges in Illinois of 2024

The University of Chicago is a private research university located in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. It stands out on our list for having the most selective admissions rate of the private schools in Illinois at 7%. This extremely low acceptance rate also places it among the most selective schools nationwide. The university is also among the top nationwide for its affiliation with Nobel laureates - 94 have studied, taught, or researched at the school. Chicago has eight professional schools, including those in law, business, medicine, and public policy. The University of Chicago confers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and counts among its values diversity, intellectual freedom, and civic-minded research. It's affiliated with two U.S. Department of Energy laboratories: Argonne National Laboratory and the Marine Biological Laboratory. The University of Chicago was founded in 1890 in part by American philanthropist and business magnate John D. Rockefeller.

With a 9% acceptance rate, Northwestern University is an extremely competitive private school in Evanston, Illinois. It's the oldest chartered university in the state and stands out on this list for having the highest graduation rate among private schools at 95%. Northwestern has 11 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, including those in medicine, law, business, music, journalism, and education. Current faculty members include three Nobel Prize recipients, three Pulitzer Prize winners, two National Medal of Science awardees, and numerous Guggenheim, Carnegie, and MacArthur fellows. Additionally, 160 current faculty members are members of the national academies, including those in science, medicine, engineering, and education. The student-to-faculty ratio at Northwestern is an extremely low 6:1.

Founded in 1867, the University of Illinois is the state's flagship public research institution. Located in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana, it has a student body of over 51,000 undergraduate and graduate students from all 50 states and also 50 countries. The school's research milestones are vast and include the field of special education, the first graphical web browser, LED lights, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Sixteen schools and colleges make upf the University of Illinois, including those in engineering, social work, medicine, law, and aviation. It stands out on this list as having the most selective admissions rate and the highest graduation rate among public schools.

Part of the University of Illinois system, the University of Illinois Chicago is a public research institution with 34,000 graduate and undergraduate students. It's the largest university in the Chicago metropolitan area as well as the most diverse. With over a quarter of the student body identifying as Hispanic, it's a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution. Advancing racial equity is one of the university's major missions; additionally, it has many diversity initiatives, including seven Centers for Cultural Understanding and Cultural Change on campus and a Black & African Descent Resources website. The school also offers support and resources for undocumented students. Academically, the university confers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees and has 16 colleges, including those in medicine, dentistry, urban affairs, pharmacy, and architecture.

Wheaton College is a small private, interdenominational Christian school in Wheaton, Illinois, that was founded in 1860. There are 2,800 graduate and undergraduate students at Wheaton studying in over 150 academic programs, including the school's prestigious Conservatory of Music. The conservatory offers seven bachelor's degrees in music and has nine student ensembles, including percussion, opera, jazz, and chamber music. Other popular programs at Wheaton College include applied health science, biology, business, communication, and psychology. The school boasts a low student-to-faculty ratio of 10:1, and 95% of full-time faculty hold a doctorate or other terminal degree in their field. The college's new student center is named after Todd Beamer, a Wheaton alumnus who played an instrumental role in thwarting the takeover of United Flight 93 by hostages on September 11, 2001.

Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private university located in Chicago. The school has a professional and technology-oriented focus with a high degree of research activity as well. It awards bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees, and its seven schools include the Armour College of Engineering, Chicago-Kent College of Law, College of Architecture, and Stuart School of Business. Among its research institutes and affiliates are the Institute for Food Safety and Health, Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research, and the Kaplan Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship. Alumni and faculty of the Illinois Institute of Technology are credited with inventing magnetic recording, barcode technology, and tall-building architecture. The school was founded in 1890 and has 7,000 students.

Overlooking Lake Michigan in the heart of Chicago, Loyola University Chicago is one of the largest Catholic universities in the country. This school with 17,000 undergraduate and graduate students was founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits). It's known for both its athletics and its academics and is often ranked number one in the country by the NCAA with the highest Graduation Success Rate for its Division 1 student athletes. Loyola Chicago has 13 degree-granting colleges and schools, including those in education, law, medicine, nursing, social work, and environmental sustainability. The law and business schools have highly competitive early admissions programs available. Loyola Chicago has four career centers on campus and boasts a 98% job or further-education placement rate for its undergraduate students within three months of graduation.

The oldest public university in Illinois, Illinois State University was founded in 1857 as a teacher preparation school. Today it offers graduate and undergraduate degrees in many disciplines but also retains its roots in education. The school, located in the town of Normal, is one of the top 10 largest producers of teachers in the country. The most popular undergraduate majors at Illinois State are elementary education, special education, nursing, marketing, and finance. Veterans are particularly welcome at the university, which is a Top 10 Military Friendly school and has an active Veterans and Military Services Office. The office helps veterans, military members, and their dependents with admissions, academic advising, financial aid counseling, disability support/student accommodations, career services, and other support services. Additionally, its online Pause to Applause series shares the success stories of veterans who have graduated from Illinois State University.

DePaul University, located in the heart of Chicago, Illinois, is the largest Catholic university in the United States in terms of enrollment. It has 21,670 undergraduate and graduate students, the majority of whom live on campus. The university offers over 130 undergraduate majors and 175 graduate degree programs through its 10 colleges and schools. These schools include business, law, theater, music, and education. The Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media is particularly unique with its collaborative education that blends technology, artistry, and business. Among the unique undergraduate degrees offered by this college are a Bachelor of Arts in Animation, a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Television, and a Bachelor of Science in Game Programming. DePaul has a particularly strong alumni network of 200,000 Blue Demons worldwide and offers an alumni mentorship program and many activities year round, including group participation in the university's annual Vincentian Service Day.