2026 Best Best Schools in Illinois
Best programs are offered at a focused set of schools across the country. While the number of schools offering the program varies, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 11 schools to find the best for best students.
What’s on this page:
Best Schools for Best in Illinois
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest overall best education in Illinois.
Top Schools in Best
No school ranked higher than University Of Chicago this year for best. Set in the city of Chicago, University Of Chicago is a very large private not-for-profit institution. The six-year graduation rate is 96%. University Of Chicago awarded about 246 best degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, best degree recipients from University Of Chicago generally make around $81,002. University Of Chicago graduates carry a median of $15,854 in student loans.
Get the full best details for University Of Chicago
Students looking for a strong best program will find one at University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign, which ranked #2. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public school located in the city of Champaign. Roughly 85% of students complete a degree within six years here. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign awarded about 96 best degrees in the most recent data year. Soon after graduation, best degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign generally make around $57,461. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign graduates carry a median of $20,778 in student loans.
More information about a degree in best from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign
Students looking for a strong best program will find one at Depaul University, which ranked #3. Located in the city of Chicago, Depaul University is a very large private not-for-profit university. Depaul University graduates 68% of students within six years. There were roughly 100 best students who graduated with this degree at Depaul University in the most recent data year. Students who receive their best degree from Depaul University earn around $55,226 in the first couple years of their career. Depaul University graduates carry a median of $25,310 in student loans.
See the full best program report for Depaul University
View All Best Rankings >
Notes and References
The ranking above is published by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs graduation rate, post-graduation earnings, cost, and program quality, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Top Ranked · 11 schools evaluated.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
