In Illinois, there are a total of 740,314 students enrolled in higher education institutions. Of these, 454,760 attend public colleges and universities, while 285,554 are enrolled in private institutions. This comprehensive overview highlights the scale and diversity of college enrollment in Illinois, helping prospective students and families understand their options among the largest educational institutions.
Explore Largest Illinois Public Colleges with the Most Students, where 59,238 students are enrolled at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, making it the largest institution in terms of enrollment.
Following closely, University of Illinois Chicago ranks second with 33,906 students, while Illinois State University holds the third spot at 21,546. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $20,995 and graduate tuition & fees is $20,063 for the academic year 2024-2025.
At these High Enrollment Illinois Public Colleges, the average acceptance rate is 75.91%, and the average SAT score is 1,137, making them not only cost-effective but also accessible options for a wide range of students.
Our analysis includes colleges with at least 1,000 total enrollments and excludes online universities to provide a balanced overview. For a comprehensive list of online universities, visit the largest Illinois public online colleges.
| School Name | Total Population | Undergraduate | Graduate | Men | Women | Online Enrollment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, ILPublic, 4-year | 59,238 2,675 | 37,140 (62.70%) | 22,098 (37.30%) | 31,825 (53.72%) | 27,413 (46.28%) | 9,212 (15.55%) |
| 2 - | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, ILPublic, 4-year | 33,906 384 | 22,495 (66.35%) | 11,411 (33.65%) | 14,994 (44.22%) | 18,912 (55.78%) | 4,153 (12.25%) |
| 3 - | Illinois State University Normal, ILPublic, 4-year | 21,546 557 | 19,107 (88.68%) | 2,439 (11.32%) | 8,998 (41.76%) | 12,548 (58.24%) | 1,302 (6.04%) |
| 4 - | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, ILPublic, 4-year | 15,414 90 | 11,348 (73.62%) | 4,066 (26.38%) | 6,960 (45.15%) | 8,454 (54.85%) | 2,197 (14.25%) |
| 5 - | Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Edwardsville, ILPublic, 4-year | 11,893 152 | 8,945 (75.21%) | 2,948 (24.79%) | 5,013 (42.15%) | 6,880 (57.85%) | 1,999 (16.81%) |
| 6 - | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, ILPublic, 4-year | 11,790 431 | 8,553 (72.54%) | 3,237 (27.46%) | 5,541 (47.00%) | 6,249 (53.00%) | 2,272 (19.27%) |
| 7 - | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, ILPublic, 4-year | 8,505 299 | 6,785 (79.78%) | 1,720 (20.22%) | 3,624 (42.61%) | 4,881 (57.39%) | 1,283 (15.09%) |
| 8 - | Western Illinois University Macomb, ILPublic, 4-year | 6,332 741 | 4,525 (71.46%) | 1,807 (28.54%) | 2,569 (40.57%) | 3,763 (59.43%) | 1,607 (25.38%) |
| 9 - | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, ILPublic, 4-year | 5,734 230 | 4,226 (73.70%) | 1,508 (26.30%) | 2,313 (40.34%) | 3,421 (59.66%) | 1,101 (19.20%) |
| 10 - | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, ILPublic, 4-year | 4,628 33 | 2,309 (49.89%) | 2,319 (50.11%) | 2,178 (47.06%) | 2,450 (52.94%) | 2,191 (47.34%) |
| Average | 17,899 | 12,543 (70.08%) | 5,355 (29.92%) | 8,402 (46.94%) | 9,497 (53.06%) | 2,732 (15.26%) |