In urban lakes and legendary college towns, Midwest schools rival the nation's best in athletics, academics and atmosphere.
Of the six Midwest universities that earned 5 stars in the 2023-2024 Money's Best Colleges rankings, four are from the Big Ten, including three public behemoths and the only private school in the conference, Northwestern.
The Wildcats' foes across the Chicago Loop, the Maroons, also made the list, as did the only school in the country where you can study in a library under a 134-foot mural of Jesus marking a touchdown.
Money rates colleges based on value for your money, using a methodology that weighs more than two dozen data points on earnings, costs, graduation rates, peer quality, debt loads and more .
If you're from the Midwest and are inclined to stay close—or if the heartland is just calling your name—here's a breakdown of the 5-star colleges in the area, in alphabetical order:
Northwestern University
Courtesy of Northwestern University
- Location: Evanston, Illinois
- Estimated price with average grant: $32,200
- Graduation Rate: 94%
- Early career earnings: $85,800
At Northwestern, students apply their high school work ethic to busy extracurricular and academic programs, and the school's term system keeps them jumping from exam to exam. But they also find time for the social life that revolves around Greek organizations. Northwestern students tend to do well in the job market after leaving school. Full profile.
University of Chicago
Courtesy of the University of Chicago
- Location: Chicago
- Estimated price with average grant: $36,200
- Graduation Rate: 95%
- Early career earnings: $78,400
The student body at UChicago is intellectual and takes pride in this fact: Many believe the school teaches them to think critically. Students must complete a rigorous liberal arts core curriculum, where A's are much more difficult than at other schools. The city is a playground for students and an important part of university life, providing work, internship and volunteer opportunities for students, as well as sporting and cultural activities. Full profile.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Courtesy of University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Location: Champaign, Illinois
- Estimated price with average grant: $15,300
- Graduation Rate: 86%
- Early career earnings: $77,400
The University of Illinois is recognized for high spending on research, and its experts have recently made headlines for studying everything from genetically modified crops to prebiotics. Students have access to the second largest university library system in the country. (Only Harvard is bigger.) The state system's flagship campus also scores highly on Money's measures of affordability. Full profile.
University of Michigan
Courtesy of the University of Michigan
- Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Estimated price with average grant: $20,600
- Graduation Rate: 93%
- Early career earnings: $79,600
A perennial top performer in Money's college rankings, Michigan shines in each of the three areas our team evaluates — affordability, quality and student outcomes. The university's Division I athletics is also top-notch, and during home football games in the fall, hordes of student fans flock to “The Big House,” the largest stadium in the Western Hemisphere, to cheer on their team. Full profile.
University of Notre Dame
Courtesy of the University of Notre Dame
- Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
- Estimated price with average grant: $32,700
- Graduation Rate: 96%
- Early career earnings: $93,200
Although Notre Dame is a Catholic school and requires students to take at least two theology courses, it welcomes students of all faiths. The university may be best known for its humanities and business programs, but it is also strong in the sciences. About 96% of students graduate within six years, meaning Notre Dame has one of the highest graduation rates in Money's rankings. The football team, the Fighting Irish, is a big part of the university's social life, especially since there are no fraternities or sororities at Notre Dame. Full profile.
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Location: Madison, Wisconsin
- Estimated price with average grant: $14,500
- Graduation Rate: 87%
- Early career earnings: $70,600
The university's 34,000 undergraduate students have more than 9,000 courses and 242 majors and certificates to choose from, while the business and engineering programs are particularly prestigious. Money estimates that the price of a degree from UW-Madison comes to just over $102.00 — $30,000 cheaper than the median cost of all the schools on our list. Full profile.
Notes: Prices for public universities reflect in-state tuition. The graduation rate measures degree completion within six years for both transfer students and first-time students. Early career earnings are the median earnings for both graduates and non-graduates 10 years after first enrolment. Sources: US Department of Education, Peterson's, Money/Witlytic calculations.
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