Advertisement Kiplinger's College Finder helps you to identify the best college matches for you or your son or daughter. Return to Map of All Schools with Filters Return to Map of All Schools with Filters Check out the best college values in Illinois. View the list on a map, as a sortable table, or in tiles. Select as many as five specific colleges to add to your Compare List for side-by-side evaluation. Use our College Finder tool to discover more great college values across the country. Compare up to 5 colleges | (5) selected | View list Filter Schools Filter Schools Reset Filters Reset Map Position Done College Type Public Colleges Private Liberal-Arts Private Universities Total Annual Cost ? <$25,000 <$35,000 <$45,000 <$55,000 Total Annual Cost After Aid ? <$20,000 <$25,000 <$30,000 <$35,000 # of Students <5,000 5,000-10,000 >15,000 Avg Debt at Graduation <$20,000 <$30,000 Admission Rate Low (<30%) High (>75%) 4-Year Grad Rate 85%+ 75%+ 60%+ 50%+ Region Mid-Atlantic Midwest New England Southeast/Mid-South West/Southwest State alabama alaska arizona arkansas california colorado connecticut delaware district-of-columbia florida georgia hawaii idaho illinois indiana iowa kansas kentucky louisiana maine maryland massachusetts michigan minnesota mississippi missouri montana nebraska nevada new-hampshire new-jersey new-mexico new-york north-carolina north-dakota ohio oklahoma oregon pennsylvania rhode-island south-carolina south-dakota tennessee texas utah vermont virginia washington west-virginia wisconsin wyoming Schools List View Table ViewMap View Overall Rank Name State Admit rate 4-yr. grad. rate Total cost per yr. Avg. need-based aid Avg. non-need-based aid % of non-need-based aid† Avg. debt at graduation Salary yardstick 44Northwestern UniversityIL9%84%$72,798$46,720$4,9237%$19,718$69,000 45Wheaton CollegeIL85%80%$47,400$21,171$7,35848%$27,543$48,400 50University of ChicagoIL9%88%$76,380$46,460$9,07026%$23,401$68,100 90University of Illinois at Urbana--ChampaignIL62%70%$45,460$14,580$5,39220%$25,550$61,500 138Principia CollegeIL91%71%$42,080$28,101$22,71470%$18,335NA 155Lake Forest CollegeIL53%66%$58,454$34,500$23,11088%$34,000$50,900 175Illinois Wesleyan UniversityIL61%71%$59,420$27,990$19,20294%$36,036$59,100 179Knox CollegeIL72%72%$57,324$28,374$21,83577%$31,235$39,700 181Augustana CollegeIL59%71%$53,707$24,787$21,09679%$34,964$52,000 276Loyola University ChicagoIL71%69%$59,758$21,420$16,44467%$34,973$54,100 278Bradley UniversityIL71%51%$45,580$17,049$11,04274%$28,432$53,600 316North Central CollegeIL54%61%$51,099$22,447$18,22578%$38,267$47,800 388DePaul UniversityIL72%59%$55,314$19,085$13,08039%$30,115$53,300 393Dominican UniversityIL65%47%$44,875$19,644$15,80853%$28,659$47,100 394Illinois State UniversityIL89%47%$36,800$9,440$3,08710%$29,228$47,100 399Illinois Institute of TechnologyIL54%32%$61,618$33,045$24,78775%$32,671$69,100 NRLewis UniversityIL54%48%$44,528$15,882$11,66135%$34,006$48,800 NRUniversity of Illinois at ChicagoIL77%30%$38,920$12,993$5,6638%$23,076$54,300 NRUniversity of Illinois at SpringfieldIL52%36%$33,998$10,770$8,32317%$25,313$44,600 NRUniversity of St. FrancisIL52%41%$43,250$20,129$10,69155%$32,838$53,100 NRWestern Illinois UniversityIL60%30%$22,097$9,653$3,40114%$29,422$43,200 # - Based on the median earnings of workers who started at a particular college 10 years earlier and who received federal financial aid. The data don't consider whether the student graduated or went on to graduate school. † - Percentage of all undergraduates without need who received non-need-based aid. ‡ - Number of students who received non-need-based aid is less than 0.5%. § - For non-Mormons; $14,096 for Mormons. * - All admitted students received a four-year tuition scholarship of $39,400 for the 2018-19 academic year. & - Includes fees, room and board and estimated book expense. NA - Not available. NR – Not ranked. SOURCES - Peterson's Databases (© 2019 Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.), U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Don't Miss These Slide Shows 20 Best College Values in the U.S. 10 Best Public College Values 10 Best College Values With Lowest Average Graduating Debt 10 Best College Values You May Have Overlooked What to Know About Getting Into a Military Service Academy