The average acceptance rate of the 12 public Illinois colleges that have competitive admission is 70.88% for the academic year 2024-2025. Compared to last year, the acceptance rate is lower by 2.51%. The acceptance rate at 4 public Illinois colleges increased and the rate of 7 colleges decreased.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has the lowest (i.e. hard to admit) acceptance rate of 42.37%. Chicago State University (43.26%) and Governors State University (48.27%) are following it in the list of Tightest Illinois Public Colleges to Get In.
This ranking is only based on acceptance rates and more admission stats such as SAT and ACT scores are helpful to measure the chances to get in more accurately.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign ranked 1st, up 1 place from 2nd last year. Chicago State University ranked second, a drop from first place last year.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $19,656 and graduate tuition & fees is $20,391 for the academic year 2024-2025.
We note that the actual tightness of admission lies in considering other admission requirements such as SAT score.| School Name | Acceptance Rate | Yield | SAT Score | Undergraduate Tuition & Fees | Total Population | Graduation Rate | Students to Faculty Ratio | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 1 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, ILPublic, 4-year | 42.37% 1.32% | 28.83% | 1,440 | $40,096 ($18,267) | 59,238 | 85.00% | 20 to 1 |
| 2 1 | Chicago State University Chicago, ILPublic, 4-year | 43.26% 2.74% | 3.76% | - | $12,757 ($12,757) | 2,238 | 15.00% | 9 to 1 |
| 3 | Governors State University University Park, ILPublic, 4-year | 48.27% | 16.82% | - | $12,004 ($12,004) | 4,397 | 22.00% | 11 to 1 |
| 4 1 | Eastern Illinois University Charleston, ILPublic, 4-year | 65.35% 2.40% | 9.81% | 1,000 | $15,859 ($13,377) | 8,505 | 47.00% | 14 to 1 |
| 5 - | Northern Illinois University Dekalb, ILPublic, 4-year | 69.79% 0.66% | 12.06% | - | $13,060 ($13,060) | 15,414 | 49.00% | 15 to 1 |
| 6 - | Western Illinois University Macomb, ILPublic, 4-year | 71.18% 3.78% | 10.27% | - | $14,572 ($14,572) | 6,332 | 45.00% | 12 to 1 |
| 7 3 | Northeastern Illinois University Chicago, ILPublic, 4-year | 74.60% 4.20% | 8.49% | - | $22,726 ($12,383) | 5,734 | 22.00% | 9 to 1 |
| 8 1 | University of Illinois Chicago Chicago, ILPublic, 4-year | 77.35% 1.15% | 21.09% | 1,240 | $32,009 ($15,949) | 33,906 | 62.00% | 17 to 1 |
| 9 1 | University of Illinois Springfield Springfield, ILPublic, 4-year | 85.88% 1.51% | 12.55% | 1,070 | $20,139 ($12,557) | 4,628 | 53.00% | 13 to 1 |
| 10 - | Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale, ILPublic, 4-year | 86.88% 3.56% | 18.64% | 1,040 | $13,334 ($13,334) | 11,790 | 62.00% | 11 to 1 |
| Average | 66.49% | 14.23% | 1,158 | $19,656 ($13,826) | 15,218 | 46.20% | 13 to 1 |