These Are The Top IL Colleges In 2027 U.S. News Rankings

Four colleges and universities in the Prairie State earned spots in the 2027 Best Colleges rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

The highest-ranked Illinois schools were Northwestern University in Evanston and the University of Chicago, which tied for ninth place among national universities.

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Both universities dropped in the rankings this year, with the University of Chicago placing sixth and Northwestern placing seventh in 2025.

Here are the Illinois schools included in the rankings in the top 100 nationwide:

9. Northwestern University

9. University of Chicago

34. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

95. University of Illinois Chicago

Schools may appear in several lists, including National Universities, National Liberal Arts Colleges and four regional university and college categories. U.S. News also publishes rankings for public universities, historically Black colleges and universities, undergraduate programs and schools offering strong value or support for veterans.

Some Rankings Changed Sharply

The 2027 edition brought more movement than usual because U.S. News changed both its scoring formula and the categories in which many schools compete.

The rankings feature a new metric comparing graduates' four-year post-college earnings within their specific fields of study. This evaluates graduates against peers in the same subject nationwide, preventing schools from being rewarded solely for producing graduates in high-paying fields like engineering or finance.

Earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard covers employed federal financial aid recipients with bachelor's degrees. This metric replaced graduate indebtedness, which U.S. News discontinued due to outdated, uncertain debt data.

About one-fifth of the institutions evaluated were also moved into different categories under an updated classification system developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the American Council on Education.

A school's move from one list to another may reflect its new category, not a change in academic quality, U.S. News said.

The outlet also added an undergraduate economics specialty ranking and a Best Value Schools for In-State Students list examining affordability at public colleges.

Overall Rankings

The top private and public universities are

National Universities (Private)

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

2. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey

3. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

National Universities (Public)

1 (tie). University of California, Berkeley

1 (tie). University of California, Los Angeles

3. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor

National Liberal Arts Colleges

1. Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts

2. Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts

3 (tie). Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine

3 (tie). Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, California

3 (tie). Pomona College, Claremont, California

3 (tie). Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

How Rankings Are Calculated

U.S. News evaluates schools using measures that include graduation and retention rates, the performance of students who received federal Pell Grants, faculty resources, academic reputation, graduates' earnings and student debt.

U.S. News said the rankings should be considered one tool among many when choosing a college. Cost, financial aid, available majors, campus culture, location and a student's likelihood of graduating can matter more than a school's numerical position.