2022 best colleges in Illinois 
Read more
Filters
-
Illinois
Net cost: The median annual cost of all students that receive any aid. This does not refer to the “sticker price”, the price listed by the college.
Earnings: The median earnings of all bachelor-level students 10 years after enrollment. This includes both students that do and do not graduate, across all majors.
Payback: The amount of time in years it takes to pay off the median net cost by the median earnings. For this calculation, the median earning of high school graduates (in the school’s home state) are deducted from the median earnings.
Degree premium: The difference between the school’s median earnings and the median earnings for all schools in the same state. This is called “Vs. state average” in school profiles below.
Ranking: The payback rate is divided by the degree premium (set as a percentage), the lower the number the higher the rank. (i.e. payback=1, degree premium 20% higher than state school median: 1/120% = .883.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, Illinois
Admission rate: 64%
Grad rate: 85%
Net cost: $15,880
Payback: 1.4 Years
Earnings: $71,539
Vs. state average: + $26,702
Economic score: 0.90
Go to School
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois
Admission rate: 10%
Grad rate: 96%
Net cost: $24,664
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $80,033
Vs. state average: + $35,196
Economic score: 1.03
Go to School
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
Admission rate: 61%
Grad rate: 74%
Net cost: $22,831
Payback: 2.0 Years
Earnings: $77,682
Vs. state average: + $32,845
Economic score: 1.16
Go to School
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Admission rate: 8%
Grad rate: 95%
Net cost: $27,315
Payback: 2.2 Years
Earnings: $76,730
Vs. state average: + $31,893
Economic score: 1.28
Go to School
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Admission rate: 73%
Grad rate: 68%
Net cost: $13,312
Payback: 1.8 Years
Earnings: $59,780
Vs. state average: + $14,943
Economic score: 1.32
Go to School
University of St Francis
Joliet, Illinois
Admission rate: 61%
Grad rate: 67%
Net cost: $17,538
Payback: 2.2 Years
Earnings: $59,498
Vs. state average: + $14,661
Economic score: 1.68
Go to School
Saint Xavier University
Chicago, Illinois
Admission rate: 80%
Grad rate: 62%
Net cost: $14,528
Payback: 2.2 Years
Earnings: $53,990
Vs. state average: + $9,153
Economic score: 1.81
Go to School
University of Illinois Springfield
Springfield, Illinois
Admission rate: 78%
Grad rate: 55%
Net cost: $12,477
Payback: 2.2 Years
Earnings: $49,747
Vs. state average: + $4,910
Economic score: 2.02
Go to School
Lewis University
Romeoville, Illinois
Admission rate: 67%
Grad rate: 67%
Net cost: $18,664
Payback: 2.6 Years
Earnings: $55,906
Vs. state average: + $11,069
Economic score: 2.08
Go to School
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, Illinois
Admission rate: 57%
Grad rate: 79%
Net cost: $26,039
Payback: 3.2 Years
Earnings: $66,966
Vs. state average: + $22,129
Economic score: 2.11
Go to School
Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois
Admission rate: 74%
Grad rate: 78%
Net cost: $25,634
Payback: 3.0 Years
Earnings: $61,889
Vs. state average: + $17,052
Economic score: 2.14
Go to School
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Edwardsville, Illinois
Admission rate: 86%
Grad rate: 54%
Net cost: $14,423
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $51,671
Vs. state average: + $6,834
Economic score: 2.18
Go to School
Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, Illinois
Admission rate: 66%
Grad rate: 67%
Net cost: $21,485
Payback: 2.9 Years
Earnings: $56,183
Vs. state average: + $11,346
Economic score: 2.30
Go to School
Governors State University
University Park, Illinois
Admission rate: 48%
Grad rate: 60%
Net cost: $12,077
Payback: 2.5 Years
Earnings: $48,796
Vs. state average: + $3,959
Economic score: 2.30
Go to School
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois
Admission rate: 71%
Grad rate: 69%
Net cost: $30,090
Payback: 3.3 Years
Earnings: $63,489
Vs. state average: + $18,652
Economic score: 2.35
Go to School
Illinois State University
Normal, Illinois
Admission rate: 82%
Grad rate: 72%
Net cost: $20,895
Payback: 3.0 Years
Earnings: $55,457
Vs. state average: + $10,620
Economic score: 2.39
Go to School
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois
Admission rate: 58%
Grad rate: 71%
Net cost: $26,426
Payback: 3.2 Years
Earnings: $59,021
Vs. state average: + $14,184
Economic score: 2.41
Go to School
Dominican University
River Forest, Illinois
Admission rate: 77%
Grad rate: 65%
Net cost: $19,268
Payback: 2.9 Years
Earnings: $52,781
Vs. state average: + $7,944
Economic score: 2.49
Go to School
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, Illinois
Admission rate: 56%
Grad rate: 60%
Net cost: $14,607
Payback: 2.8 Years
Earnings: $47,991
Vs. state average: + $3,154
Economic score: 2.58
Go to School
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, Illinois
Admission rate: 60%
Grad rate: 58%
Net cost: $18,259
Payback: 3.1 Years
Earnings: $52,792
Vs. state average: + $7,955
Economic score: 2.60
Go to School