Universities in Illinois
3 indexed campuses in Midwest, 91,000 students in total. Ranked by the Campus Atlas quality index; tuition shown as the in-state / out-of-state band.
Top 10 by quality index
| # | Institution | City | Control | Students | Admitted | Tuition | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UChicago | Chicago, IL | private | 18,500 | 5% | $64,000 | 91 |
| 2 | Northwestern | Evanston, IL | private | 22,500 | 7% | $62,000 | 86 |
| 3 | UIUC | Champaign, IL | public | 50,000 | — | $17,000 / $36,000 | 72 |
Largest campuses
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL · public · 50k students
Computing, information sciences and engineering at one of the largest public research campuses.
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL · private · 23k students
Journalism and communications alongside engineering, law, medicine and management across campuses in Evanston and Chicago.
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL · private · 19k students
The Chicago school of economics, a rigorous core curriculum and one of the deepest physical-science and law complexes in the Midwest.
City clusters
Guides about Illinois
Enrolment, tuition and acceptance figures are rounded planning values compiled in 2025/26 for orientation. Verify exact numbers with each university's official fact sheet before you apply.