This document provides information on 12 colleges in Illinois, including data on enrollment numbers, admission selectivity, popular majors, retention and graduation rates. It summarizes each college's academic focus and distinctions. The colleges range from large public and private research universities like University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Northwestern University to smaller private liberal arts colleges such as Knox College and Illinois College.

1. Guide to Illinois Colleges

2. Augustana College
Rock Island, Illinois
• Liberal Arts and Sciences
• ACT Composite: 23 / 28
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 73%
• Enrollment: 2,547 (all undergraduate)
• Distinctions:
12 to 1 student/ faculty ratio.
High percentage go to grad school.
Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa
Nearly all students receive grant aid.
• Most Popular Majors: Biology, Business Administration, English,
Psychology, Speech-Language Pathology
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 82%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 78%

4. DePaul University
Location: Chicago, Illinois
• Enrollment: 24,352 (15,782 undergraduates)
• Private Catholic research university
• ACT Composite: 21 / 27
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 64%
• Distinctions: largest Catholic university in the country;
highly rated service-learning programs; Blue Demons
compete in the NCAA Division I.
• Most Popular Majors: Accounting, Communication
Studies, General Studies, Management Sciences,
Marketing, Political Science.
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 85%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 64%

6. Illinois College
Jacksonville, Illinois
• Enrollment: 898 (all undergraduate)
• Private liberal arts college
• ACT Composite: 21 / 26
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 54%
• Distinctions:
• 13 to 1 student/faculty ratio.
• Oldest college in Illinois
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and sciences.
• Good value, good financial aid
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 78%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 63%
• Most Popular Majors: Accounting, Biology, Economics, Elementary
Eduction, English, History, Interdisciplinary Studies, Psychology
• Teaching Certification, Pre-Law, Pre-Nursing, Pre-Medicine, Pre-Dentistry,
Occupational Therapy

8. Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, Illinois
• ACT Composite: 25 / 31
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 60%
• Enrollment: 7,453 (2,639 undergraduates)
• Private research university with science and engineering focus
• Distinctions:
• strong architecture and engineering programs;
• located adjacent to the White Sox stadium;
• most students receive significant grant aid;
• good educational value.
• Most Popular Majors: Aerospace Engineering, Architecture, Civil
Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical
Engineering
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 88%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 64%

10. Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, Illinois
• Enrollment: 2,125 (all undergraduate)
• Private liberal arts college
• ACT Composite: 26 / 31
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 62%
• Distinctions:
• 11 to 1 student/faculty ration
• Average class size of 17
• high retention and graduation rates
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and
sciences
• Most Popular Majors: Accounting, Biology, Business, English,
History, Nursing, Political Science, Psychology
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 93%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 86%

12. Knox College
Galesburg, Illinois
• 1,379 (all undergraduate)
• Private liberal arts college
• ACT Composite: 26 / 31 (Care more about GPA)
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 74%
• Distinctions:
• 12 to 1 student/faculty ratio
• average class size of 18;
• founded in 1837 by anti-slavery reformers
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and sciences.
• good grant aid and educational value
• Most Popular Majors:Biology, Creative Writing, Economics,
Education, English, History, Political Science, Psychology,
Social Sciences
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 88%6-Year
Graduation Rate: 75%

14. Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, Illinois
• Enrollment: 1,400 (1,381 undergraduates)
• Private liberal arts college
• Average High School GPA: 3.5
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 69%
• Distinctions:
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and
sciences.
• Student/faculty ratio 12:1
• Average class size of 19
• Located on the shores of Lake Michigan
• Test optional admissions
• Most Popular Majors: Art, Biology, Business, Communication Studies,
Economics, English, Political Science, Psychology
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 73%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 66%

16. Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL
• Enrollment: 15,670 (10,124 undergraduates)
• Private Catholic research university
• ACT Composite: 24 / 29
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 78%
• Distinctions:
• one of the top Catholic Universities.
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and
sciences.
• Ramblers competes in the NCAA Division I Horizon League.
• Most Popular Majors:Accounting, Biology, Communication Studies,
Criminal Justice Studies, English, Finance, History, Marketing,
Nursing, Political Science, Psychology
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 85%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 68%

18. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
• Private research university
• ACT Composite: 31 / 33
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 27%
• Distinctions:
• one of the most selective of all Illinois colleges;
• membership in the Association of American Universities of Research
Strength.
• One of the top U.S. universities
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and sciences.
• NCAA Division I: Big Ten Conference
• Most Popular Majors: Communications Studies, Economics,
History, Journalism, Political Science, Psychology, Theatre
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 97%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 95%

20. University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
• Enrollment: 14,788 (5,031 undergraduates)
• Private research university
• Distinctions:
• Strong first-year student housing system
• One of the most selective Illinois colleges
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and sciences.
• Membership in the Association of American Universities of
Research Strength.
• One of the top U.S. universities
• ACT Composite: 30 / 34
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 19%
• Most Popular Majors: Biology, Economics, English, History, Mathematics,
Political Science
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 98%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 92%

22. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, IL
• Enrollment: 43,246 (31,417 undergraduates)
• Public research university
• ACT Composite: 26 / 31
• Percent of Applicants Admitted: 67%
• Distinctions:
• one of the top engineering schools in the nation.
• One of the top public schools in the nation
• Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in liberal arts and sciences
• NCAA Division I: Big Ten Conference
• Most Popular Majors: Accounting, Business Administration,
Cellular Biology, Economics, Electrical Engineering, English,
Finance, Mechanical Engineering, Political Science,
Psychology
• First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 93%
• 6-Year Graduation Rate: 83%