Best Private Colleges in Illinois 2023

Published: Mar 23, 2021
Updated: Sep 8, 2023

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.

National Louis University 97%
Columbia College Chicago 96%
Roosevelt University 92%
Trinity International University 91%
Eureka College 87%
Aurora University 86%
Wheaton College 86%
Saint Xavier University 85%
Benedictine University 80%
McKendree University 78%

Aurora University 20 to 1
DePaul University 17 to 1
National Louis University 16 to 1
Saint Xavier University 16 to 1
Lewis University 14 to 1
Loyola University Chicago 14 to 1
McKendree University 14 to 1
Bradley University 14 to 1
Columbia College Chicago 14 to 1
North Central College 13 to 1

University of Chicago $62,241
Northwestern University $60,768
Illinois Wesleyan University $52,512
Knox College $51,576
Lake Forest College $51,002
Illinois Institute of Technology $50,490
Loyola University Chicago $47,808
Augustana College $46,189
North Central College $42,206
DePaul University $42,012

University of Chicago $62,640
Northwestern University $56,067
Augustana College $33,000
Illinois Institute of Technology $29,052
Roosevelt University $21,275
Millikin University $20,000
Loyola University Chicago $18,990
Benedictine University $18,530
Wheaton College $18,096
DePaul University $17,951

Lewis University
Saint Xavier University
Millikin University
McKendree University
Benedictine University
National Louis University
Trinity International University
North Central College
Aurora University
Illinois College

University of Chicago 6%
Northwestern University 7%
Illinois Wesleyan University 45%
Lake Forest College 64%
Illinois Institute of Technology 66%
Rockford University 67%
North Central College 68%
Augustana College 69%
DePaul University 69%
Knox College 70%

University of Chicago 5 to 1
Northwestern University 6 to 1
Trinity International University 8 to 1
Millikin University 10 to 1
Illinois Institute of Technology 10 to 1
Rockford University 10 to 1
Knox College 10 to 1
Wheaton College 10 to 1
Eureka College 11 to 1
Augustana College 11 to 1

National Louis University $11,505
Aurora University $26,760
Columbia College Chicago $27,786
Eureka College $28,360
Roosevelt University $31,493
McKendree University $33,050
Trinity International University $33,298
Rockford University $34,000
Benedictine University $34,290
Saint Xavier University $35,060

Columbia College Chicago $1,174
Illinois College $9,000
McKendree University $9,756
National Louis University $11,646
Rockford University $13,500
Aurora University $14,100
Lewis University $14,760
Saint Xavier University $15,000
Lake Forest College $15,252
North Central College $15,822

Table of Contents

Colleges and Universities 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.

Find college admissions consultants in your state.

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.

What are Illinois’s Colleges & Universities?

Illinois’s Best Overall

What is the difference between public and private colleges?

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.

How do we determine Illinois's best private colleges and universities?

Methodology

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

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.