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 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 Northwestern University holds the third spot at 23,856. These institutions set the benchmark for large-scale education.
The average undergraduate tuition & fees of the schools is $37,341 and graduate tuition & fees is $29,458 for the academic year 2024-2025.
At these High Enrollment Illinois Colleges, the average acceptance rate is 63.17%, and the average SAT score is 1,276, 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 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 - | Northwestern University Evanston, ILPrivate, 4-year | 23,856 653 | 9,399 (39.40%) | 14,457 (60.60%) | 10,696 (44.84%) | 13,160 (55.16%) | 781 (3.27%) |
| 4 1 | 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%) |
| 5 1 | DePaul University Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 21,210 138 | 14,188 (66.89%) | 7,022 (33.11%) | 9,464 (44.62%) | 11,746 (55.38%) | 2,424 (11.43%) |
| 6 - | University of Chicago Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 18,566 227 | 7,598 (40.92%) | 10,968 (59.08%) | 10,087 (54.33%) | 8,479 (45.67%) | 102 (0.55%) |
| 7 - | Loyola University Chicago Chicago, ILPrivate, 4-year | 17,384 13 | 12,538 (72.12%) | 4,846 (27.88%) | 5,417 (31.16%) | 11,967 (68.84%) | 1,393 (8.01%) |
| 8 - | 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%) |
| 9 - | 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%) |
| 10 - | 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%) |
| Average | 23,480 | 15,131 (64.44%) | 8,349 (35.56%) | 10,900 (46.42%) | 12,581 (53.58%) | 2,584 (11.00%) |