When students are looking for their best fit in a university, there are dozens of metrics to consider, such as specific academic programs, sports teams, location. But it's good to have an overall picture of the best schools too--the whole experience
Niche.com ranked the "best overall" colleges in Illinois for 2015 using 50 sets of statistics from various government and public sources; the website's own "proprietary data;" as well as nearly 12 million opinion-based survey responses covering 20 topics from roughly 300,000 current and former students.
Check out which schools are considered the best overall based on Niche's methodology, which you can read more about following this list.
Here are seven of the top overall colleges in Illinois.
36. Chicago State University
- Academics: C
- Campus quality: C
- Diversity: C+
- Health and safety: C-
- Local area: B-
- Party Scene: B-
- Average net price:12,355
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.7/5 (45 respondents)
35. Northeastern Illinois University
- Academics: C+
- Campus quality: C
- Diversity: A-
- Health and safety: B+
- Local area: B
- Party Scene: C-
- Average net price:14,895
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.6/5 (73 respondents)
34. Aurora University
- Academics: C
- Campus quality: C+
- Diversity: C+
- Health and safety: B-
- Local area: B-
- Party Scene: C
- Average net price:17,406
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.7/5 (54 respondents)
33. Northern Illinois University
- Academics: B-
- Campus quality: B-
- Diversity: B
- Health and safety: C-
- Local area: C+
- Party Scene: A-
- Average net price:18,552
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.7/5 (146 respondents)
32. Dominican University
- Academics: B-
- Campus quality: C
- Diversity: B-
- Health and safety: B+
- Local area: B
- Party Scene: C+
- Average net price:17,124
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.6/5 (34 respondents)
31. Benedictine University
- Academics: B-
- Campus quality: C+
- Diversity: B
- Health and safety: B+
- Local area: B-
- Party Scene: C
- Average net price:18,383
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.7/5 (37 respondents)
30. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
- Academics: C+
- Campus quality: B+
- Diversity: B-
- Health and safety: B
- Local area: B
- Party Scene: B-
- Average net price:14,294
- Student Survey on overall experience: 3.8/5 (86 respondents)
Check out 29 more best schools at Reboot Illinois and find out how each school was ranked.
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