The Most Selective Colleges in Illinois
Every eligible Illinois four-year that reports an admission rate, ranked hardest to get into first and easiest last — not a prestige Top 25. Selectivity here is the published rate, not a magazine composite.
Ranked by acceptance rate · 50 of 90 Illinois institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking · Compiled 2026-09-01
Chase these schools
Top schools on this list that also show up elsewhere — hop lists without leaving the trail.
#1
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
#2
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
- 1University of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private4.8%Compare nearby
Also on 11 other lists
- the Highest SAT Averages#1
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#2
- Most Selective Colleges in America#8
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#8
- Mathematics & Statistics#9
- Public Administration#9
- the Highest ACT Scores#13
- Are Least Likely to Leave#13
- Psychology#14
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#19
- Natural Resources#22
- 2Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL · Private7.1%Compare nearby
Also on 12 other lists
- Most Expensive Colleges by Sticker Price#1
- the Highest ACT Scores#2
- Public Administration#8
- Highest Four-Year Graduation Rates#11
- Physical Sciences#13
- Most Selective Colleges in America#18
- Foreign Languages#19
- Best Student-to-Faculty Ratios#20
- the Highest SAT Averages#21
- Engineering#23
- Legal Professions#24
- Communications#25
- 3Chicago State UniversityChicago, IL · Public40.5%Compare nearby
- 4DeVry University-IllinoisLisle, IL · For-profit43.3%Compare nearby
- 5University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, IL · Public43.7%Compare nearby
- 6Illinois Wesleyan UniversityBloomington, IL · Private45.2%Compare nearby
- 7Quincy UniversityQuincy, IL · Private49.9%Compare nearby
- 8Millikin UniversityDecatur, IL · Private54.0%Compare nearby
- 9Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago, IL · Private55.4%Compare nearby
- 10Rockford UniversityRockford, IL · Private57.2%Compare nearby
- 11North Central CollegeNaperville, IL · Private58.3%Compare nearby
- 12Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest, IL · Private59.4%Compare nearby
- 13Judson UniversityElgin, IL · Private63.1%Compare nearby
- 14McKendree UniversityLebanon, IL · Private63.9%Compare nearby
- 15University of St FrancisJoliet, IL · Private63.9%Compare nearby
- 16Olivet Nazarene UniversityBourbonnais, IL · Private66.9%Compare nearby
- 17Augustana CollegeRock Island, IL · Private67.7%Compare nearby
- 18Eastern Illinois UniversityCharleston, IL · Public67.8%Compare nearby
- 19Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, IL · Public70.4%Compare nearby
- 20Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, IL · Public70.5%Compare nearby
- 21Knox CollegeGalesburg, IL · Private71.1%Compare nearby
- 22Lewis UniversityRomeoville, IL · Private72.7%Compare nearby
- 23North Park UniversityChicago, IL · Private72.8%Compare nearby
- 24DePaul UniversityChicago, IL · Private73.5%Compare nearby
- 25Illinois CollegeJacksonville, IL · Private74.7%Compare nearby
- 26Western Illinois UniversityMacomb, IL · Public75.0%Compare nearby
- 27Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, IL · Private75.7%Compare nearby
- 28School of the Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL · Private76.4%Compare nearby
- 29Bradley UniversityPeoria, IL · Private76.7%Compare nearby
- 30Benedictine UniversityLisle, IL · Private77.2%Compare nearby
- 31University of Illinois ChicagoChicago, IL · Public78.5%Compare nearby
- 32Dominican UniversityRiver Forest, IL · Private79.8%Compare nearby
- 33Loyola University ChicagoChicago, IL · Private81.4%Compare nearby
- 34University of Illinois SpringfieldSpringfield, IL · Public84.4%Compare nearby
- 35Aurora UniversityAurora, IL · Private85.1%Compare nearby
- 36Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, IL · Private85.8%Compare nearby
- 37Monmouth CollegeMonmouth, IL · Private86.6%Compare nearby
- 38Eureka CollegeEureka, IL · Private88.5%Compare nearby
- 39Chamberlain University-IllinoisAddison, IL · For-profit88.6%Compare nearby
- 40Trinity Christian CollegePalos Heights, IL · Private88.6%Compare nearby
- 41Illinois State UniversityNormal, IL · Public89.0%Compare nearby
- 42Wheaton CollegeWheaton, IL · Private90.0%Compare nearby
- 43Southern Illinois University-CarbondaleCarbondale, IL · Public90.4%Compare nearby
- 44Columbia College ChicagoChicago, IL · Private91.2%Compare nearby
- 45National Louis UniversityChicago, IL · Private93.1%Compare nearby
- 46Concordia University-ChicagoRiver Forest, IL · Private93.4%Compare nearby
- 47Roosevelt UniversityChicago, IL · Private94.3%Compare nearby
- 48Greenville UniversityGreenville, IL · Private95.4%Compare nearby
- 49Southern Illinois University-EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, IL · Public97.2%Compare nearby
- 50Moody Bible InstituteChicago, IL · Private97.5%Compare nearby
How this list was built
- Measure
- Acceptance rate — sorted lowest to highest
- Source variable
ADM_RATE- Dataset
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, Most-Recent-Cohorts-Institution (05-19-2025 release)
- Illinois institutions in this universe (90 schools).
- Illinois four-year main campuses only. Rank order is published admission rate; on an exact tie, higher SAT average ranks above, and missing SAT does not drop a school. SAT is not shown because it is not the ranked measure. Schools without a published ADM_RATE are omitted rather than estimated.
- Institutions enrolling fewer than 500 undergraduates are excluded — the same size floor as the national selectivity list — even when they report an admission rate. That cut is not a median-stability adjustment.
- 50 of 90 Illinois institutions in this universe qualify for this ranking (report the measure and pass any enrollment floor); the rest are omitted rather than estimated.
A single measure is a narrow way to judge a college. Read this alongside the others, and see the methodology for what these figures do and do not capture.
Keep exploring
- Re-rank with your weightsRe-score with your weights, pre-filtered to IL
- Showdown: University of Chicago vs Northwestern UniversityHigher-or-lower on Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Live leaderboardReshuffle Top 10–50 on one Scorecard measure
- Explore games & mapsShowdown, Name That College, sports, and more lists
- Sports at University of ChicagoEADA programs for the #1 school on this list
Keep going
The Most Selective Colleges in America
Lowest share of applicants admitted. Selectivity measures demand and class size, not teaching quality.
Colleges with the Highest SAT Averages
Average SAT score of enrolled students. Reported by fewer than half of institutions as test-optional admissions has spread.
Colleges That Admit Nearly Everyone
Open and near-open admission four-year institutions, ranked by the share of applicants accepted.