4 Illinois Colleges Ranked Among The Top 100 Nationwide

It’s tough when your kid heads off to college. You spend 18 years getting them ready to leave the nest, and then suddenly they’re several hundred, or worse, several thousand miles away.

And while you might miss having them around the house, there is something to be said for having your college student close enough that you can get there without booking a flight or driving for 12 hours.

If you’re looking for a nationally recognized college without sending your kid out of state, Illinois has some pretty impressive options, according to a new report.

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Let's Look At Some Of The Numbers

The latest U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings are out, and four Illinois universities landed among the top 100 colleges and universities in America for 2027.

At the very top of the Illinois list are Northwestern University in Evanston and the University of Chicago, which tied for #9 nationally among national universities.

That’s pretty impressive company, and it also means two of the country’s top 10 universities are right here in Illinois.

Next comes the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which ranked #34 nationally. The flagship state university in Champaign-Urbana continues to be one of Illinois’ biggest names in higher education.

And rounding out the Illinois top 100 is the University of Illinois Chicago, which came in at #95.

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Your Kid Could Attend A University Ranked Among The Top 100 In America, And Still Be Able To Come Home On Weekends

There is one big caveat with this year’s rankings.

U.S. News changed both its methodology and some of the categories used to classify schools. The 2027 rankings put more emphasis on things including graduates’ earnings within their specific fields of study, while also changing how some schools are categorized.

So these rankings shouldn’t be treated as the final word on choosing a college. Cost, financial aid, available majors, campus culture, and whether a particular school is a good fit for your student all matter, too.

But if keeping your future college student relatively close to home is part of the plan, Illinois certainly gives you some impressive choices.