26 Illinois Schools Make Forbes' Top Colleges Ranking for 2016

Twenty-six Illinois colleges made Forbes’ ninth annual ranking of the best colleges and universities in the country.

In collaboration with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, Forbes used data from the U.S. Department of Education, Payscale and its own America’s Leaders list to rank a total of 660 schools based on an institution’s return on investment, or ROI.

As Forbes notes, its ranking differs from others because it focuses more heavily on what students are getting out of college instead of looking at metrics that got students into a school, such as ACT and SAT scores.

Among the factors Forbes used to calculate this year’s ranking are: post-graduate success, student debt, student satisfaction, academic success and graduation rates (you can read more about the methodology here).

Here are the Top 26 best colleges and universities in Illinois, along with each school's national rank, cost and student enrollment.

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