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Illinois universities featured in 2025 U.S. News Best Colleges Rankings

By Maggie Duly
Published  September 24, 2024 12:16pm CDT
Education
FOX 32 Chicago

The Brief

    • Northwestern University and the University of Chicago both ranked in the top 25 of the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.
    • Northwestern tied with California Institute of Technology, Duke University, and Johns Hopkins University for the 6th spot.
    • The University of Chicago tied with Cornell for the 11th spot.

ILLINOIS - Illinois has once again solidified its reputation as a hub for higher education, with two universities making the top 25 of the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings.

The annual ranking was based on statistics such as graduation and job placement rates as well as student preference. 

Northwestern University in Evanston made the top 10, tying with California Institute of Technology, Duke University, Johns Hopkins University for number 6.

The University of Chicago in Hyde Park tied with Cornell for number 11. 

While not in the top 25, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign continues to be a strong contender, ranking at number 33 nationally.

Top 25 Best National Universities

1. Princeton University - Princeton, New Jersey 

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, Massachusetts

3. Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusetts

4. Stanford University - Stanford, California

5. Yale University - New Haven, Connecticut

6. (four-way tie) California Institute of Technology - Pasadena, California; Duke University - Durham, North Carolina; Johns Hopkins University - Baltimore, Maryland; Northwestern University - Evanston, Illinois

10. University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

11. (two-way tie) Cornell University - Ithaca, New York; University of Chicago - Chicago, Illinois

13. (two-way tie) Brown University - Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia University - New York, New York

15. (two-way tie) Dartmouth College - Hanover, New Hampshire; University of California, Los Angeles - Los Angeles, California

17. University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley, California

18. (three-way tie) Rice University - Houston, Texas; University of Notre Dame - South Bend, Indiana; Vanderbilt University - Nashville, Tennessee

21. (three-way tie) Carnegie Mellon University - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor - Ann Arbor, Michigan; Washington University in St. Louis - St. Louis, Missouri

24. (three-way tie) Emory University - Atlanta, Georgia; Georgetown University - Washington, D.C.; University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

For the full list of rankings, visit U.S. News & World Report.

The Source

  • The information in this article was based on a report from U.S. News & World Report.