Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Illinois.
Prospective students searching for colleges in Illinois have plenty of excellent schools to choose from. Illinois offers over 130 higher education institutes throughout the state. Thanks to an expansive public university system and several top private institutions, students can select from an extremely wide array of brick-and-mortar and online colleges in Illinois.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Illinois at Chicago, the state’s two largest public universities in Illinois. Students can access a full spectrum of undergraduate and graduate degrees for in-state tuition rates of $13,000 to $15,000 respectively. Both public universities also offer a full selection of online degree programs.It’s also worth noting that Illinois residents who pursue online degrees at public colleges in Illinois will qualify for in-state tuition rates. Out of state students will generally pay more whether pursuing on-campus or online degrees.
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More than half of the colleges in Illinois are actually private schools. Among these private colleges and universities, the most notable are DePaul University, Northwestern University, and Loyola University Chicago. Tuition from these three private schools can be costly, ranging from $44,000 to $55,000. However, each of these private schools boasts a high graduation rate and excellent professors.
Illinois is also home to many small private schools, including Benedictine University and National Louis University.
Popular disciplines in Illinois include disciplines like criminal justice, social work, nursing, education, religious studies, communications, and medicine. Both traditional and online students have a wide range of options in each of these subject areas.
Degree completion programs are also widely available for lapsed students who have already accumulated some college credits. This is an especially popular online degree option among working professionals in Illinois.
Additionally, Illinois offers several loan forgiveness-based financial aid programs for qualifying students pursuing careers as teachers, public defenders or prosecutors, or nurses.From the skyscrapers in Chicago to the vast prairie lands in the north, Illinois is a place where city meets country. Students can grab a Chicago-style hotdog on the way to a Cubs game, explore the ancient sandstone cliffs in the Shawnee National Forest, or admire an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago, all while attending one of The Prairie State’s universities or colleges.
The higher education institutes in Illinois have also produced many prominent alumni, including Stephen Colbert, Phillip Glass, and Kurt Vonnegut. Students hoping to walk the same streets as these well-known individuals can check out some of the state’s top programs and universities.
Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models. Public colleges and universities are owned by the state and receive both state and federal funding to operate. Private colleges and universities are private companies with private funding. If you’re looking at the pros and cons of private vs. public colleges, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a bachelor’s degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. Attending a college in-state is usually the cheapest option. Private universities and colleges can be very competitive with their funding opportunities, so do not simply believe that private colleges are always going to be more expensive. According to National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually. But in the end, the cost of college comes down to each student’s academic and financial situation.
This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees. We’ve identified 41 private universities in Illinois. To be included in the list below of the best private universities in Illinois, schools must be fully accredited, private, non-profit institution, and must offer a broad range of bachelor’s degrees.
Tuition + fees
$62K
Acceptance
7%
Graduation
96%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1535/34
University of Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
9%
Graduation
95%
Student body
19K
Median SAT/ACT
1495/34
Northwestern University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
72%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1295/29
Illinois Institute of Technology’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
76%
Student body
15K
Median SAT/ACT
1225/27
Loyola University Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
71%
Student body
19K
DePaul University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$41K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
88%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1330/29
Wheaton College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
76%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1170/25
Bradley University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
42%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/24
Roosevelt University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
50%
Student body
6K
Columbia College Chicago’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$52K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
71%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/27
Knox College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
58%
Graduation
75%
Student body
2K
Lake Forest College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
46%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1076/22
Benedictine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
53%
Graduation
66%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/24
North Central College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
54%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1063/23
McKendree University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
58%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1047/20
Aurora University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
56%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/21
Saint Xavier University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
77%
Student body
3K
Augustana College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
53%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1045/22
Trinity International University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
57%
Graduation
82%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/26
Illinois Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
61%
Graduation
60%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/20
Eureka College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
97%
Graduation
22%
Student body
6K
National Louis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
71%
Graduation
53%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/23
Millikin University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
68%
Student body
1K
Illinois College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
51%
Graduation
46%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/21
Rockford University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
66%
Graduation
70%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1105/24
Lewis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utiulized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.
Check out our directory of private colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top private schools in every state.
