50 best colleges in the Midwest
When you look at a ranking of the best colleges in America, you’ll notice that the top schools tend to be on the East or West Coast. For example, of the top 10 schools on U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 Best Colleges in America, six are on the East Coast, two are on the West Coast, and the South and Midwest can only claim one each. And many of these schools are hugely competitive, making admission an academic achievement. Columbia University, Yale University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology each accepted less than 5% of applicants in 2025, according to data obtained by Forbes.
However, times may be changing. Forbes’ annual list of New Ivies—elite schools that fall outside of the traditional Ivy League—put six Midwest universities in the top 10 of both public and private colleges in the United States. Schools like Northwestern University in Illinois, Purdue University, and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana are highly selective and provide a rigorous education for students.
With the spring 2026 semester now underway, rigorous education continues at college campuses across the Midwest. To showcase the institutions in the area, Stacker used Niche’s 2023 Best Colleges in America list to identify the best 50 schools in the Midwest. Niche’s rankings use data from the Department of Education on academics, admissions, student life, and reviews from current students and alums. Only colleges in Midwestern states—Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin—were included.
Click through our list to find which colleges made the cut, and if the top spot went to a big-name football school, a land-grant institution, or a bucolic liberal arts campus.
#50. Lake Forest College
– Location: Lake Forest, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 58%
– Net price: $26,968
– SAT range: 1020-1240
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $50,900
– Overall rank: #239
#49. Gustavus Adolphus College
– Location: St. Peter, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 71%
– Net price: $26,701
– SAT range: 1080-1340
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $51,700
– Overall rank: #237
#48. Moody Bible Institute
– Location: Chicago, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 98%
– Net price: $18,790
– SAT range: 990-1200
– Median earnings six years after graduation: No data available
– Overall rank: #236
#47. Hope College
– Location: Holland, Michigan
– Acceptance rate: 78%
– Net price: $30,320
– SAT range: 1130-1330
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $46,200
– Overall rank: #235
#46. Ohio University
– Location: Athens, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 87%
– Net price: $23,307
– SAT range: 1050-1250
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $40,500
– Overall rank: #234
#45. University of Illinois Chicago
– Location: Chicago, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 73%
– Net price: $12,614
– SAT range: 1030-1250
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $54,300
– Overall rank: #229
#44. Marquette University
– Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
– Acceptance rate: 82%
– Net price: $34,732
– SAT range: 1160-1340
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $62,600
– Overall rank: #228
#43. Illinois Wesleyan University
– Location: Bloomington, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 57%
– Net price: $32,545
– SAT range: 1100-1300
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $59,100
– Overall rank: #222
#42. DePaul University
– Location: Chicago, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 70%
– Net price: $33,319
– SAT range: 1050-1260
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $53,300
– Overall rank: #213
#41. College of Wooster
– Location: Wooster, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 65%
– Net price: $27,923
– SAT range: 1150-1380
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $46,300
– Overall rank: #210
#40. Oberlin College
– Location: Oberlin, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 35%
– Net price: $42,745
– SAT range: 1270-1360
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $40,800
– Overall rank: #209
#39. University of St. Thomas – Minnesota
– Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 87%
– Net price: $31,799
– SAT range: 1130-1340
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $56,800
– Overall rank: #203
#38. Cedarville University
– Location: Cedarville, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 59%
– Net price: $24,965
– SAT range: 1110-1350
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $41,300
– Overall rank: #199
#37. Lawrence University
– Location: Appleton, Wisconsin
– Acceptance rate: 69%
– Net price: $26,594
– SAT range: 1190-1410
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $44,100
– Overall rank: #198
#36. College of the Ozarks
– Location: Point Lookout, Missouri
– Acceptance rate: 14%
– Net price: $7,505
– SAT range: 1090-1240
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $32,500
– Overall rank: #194
#35. South Dakota School of Mines & Technology
– Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
– Acceptance rate: 86%
– Net price: $19,799
– SAT range: 1150-1350
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $56,500
– Overall rank: #188
#34. Kansas State University
– Location: Manhattan, Kansas
– Acceptance rate: 95%
– Net price: $18,494
– SAT range: —
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $45,600
– Overall rank: #185
#33. Drake University
– Location: Des Moines, Iowa
– Acceptance rate: 68%
– Net price: $30,321
– SAT range: 1110-1340
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $58,300
– Overall rank: #182
#32. Andrews University
– Location: Berrien Springs, Michigan
– Acceptance rate: 49%
– Net price: $22,850
– SAT range: 1030-1380
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $45,200
– Overall rank: #180
#31. DePauw University
– Location: Greencastle, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 68%
– Net price: $30,183
– SAT range: 1110-1360
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $54,000
– Overall rank: #177
#30. University of Missouri
– Location: Columbia, Missouri
– Acceptance rate: 82%
– Net price: $16,930
– SAT range: 1110-1320
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $48,300
– Overall rank: #156
#29. The University of Kansas
– Location: Lawrence, Kansas
– Acceptance rate: 91%
– Net price: $20,054
– SAT range: 1070-1320
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $48,800
– Overall rank: #155
#28. Wabash College
– Location: Crawfordsville, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 63%
– Net price: $24,412
– SAT range: 1120-1320
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $56,300
– Overall rank: #153
#27. University of Dayton
– Location: Dayton, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 81%
– Net price: $32,768
– SAT range: 1080-1300
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $55,100
– Overall rank: #150
#26. Denison University
– Location: Granville, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 28%
– Net price: $39,808
– SAT range: 1220-1430
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $48,800
– Overall rank: #142
#25. St. Olaf College
– Location: Northfield, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 51%
– Net price: $27,838
– SAT range: 1150-1390
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $50,400
– Overall rank: #140
#24. Iowa State University
– Location: Ames, Iowa
– Acceptance rate: 88%
– Net price: $16,105
– SAT range: 1010-1310
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $50,700
– Overall rank: #133
#23. Saint Louis University
– Location: St. Louis, Missouri
– Acceptance rate: 56%
– Net price: $27,872
– SAT range: 1160-1370
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $56,500
– Overall rank: #132
#22. University of Cincinnati
– Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 76%
– Net price: $22,767
– SAT range: 1120-1330
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $42,300
– Overall rank: #131
#21. Wheaton College – Illinois
– Location: Wheaton, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 87%
– Net price: $27,474
– SAT range: 1210-1450
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $48,400
– Overall rank: #125
#20. University of Iowa
– Location: Iowa City, Iowa
– Acceptance rate: 84%
– Net price: $17,452
– SAT range: 1110-1310
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $51,900
– Overall rank: #123
#19. Michigan Technological University
– Location: Houghton, Michigan
– Acceptance rate: 70%
– Net price: $17,356
– SAT range: 1160-1350
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $66,400
– Overall rank: #114
#18. Indiana University – Bloomington
– Location: Bloomington, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 80%
– Net price: $13,191
– SAT range: 1120-1350
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $47,700
– Overall rank: #113
#17. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
– Location: Terre Haute, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 77%
– Net price: $43,606
– SAT range: 1260-1460
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $80,900
– Overall rank: #109
#16. Michigan State University
– Location: East Lansing, Michigan
– Acceptance rate: 76%
– Net price: $16,655
– SAT range: 1100-1300
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $53,600
– Overall rank: #103
#15. University of Minnesota Twin Cities
– Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 70%
– Net price: $17,729
– SAT range: 1240-1460
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $51,900
– Overall rank: #92
#14. Kenyon College
– Location: Gambier, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 37%
– Net price: $40,862
– SAT range: 1280-1460
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $48,700
– Overall rank: #87
#13. Macalester College
– Location: Saint Paul, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 39%
– Net price: $35,589
– SAT range: 1280-1450
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $47,600
– Overall rank: #84
#12. The Ohio State University
– Location: Columbus, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 68%
– Net price: $18,884
– SAT range: 1210-1430
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $46,100
– Overall rank: #80
#11. Purdue University
– Location: West Lafayette, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 67%
– Net price: $12,294
– SAT range: 1170-1420
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $55,100
– Overall rank: #79
#10. Carleton College
– Location: Northfield, Minnesota
– Acceptance rate: 21%
– Net price: $30,843
– SAT range: 1330-1520
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $54,200
– Overall rank: #77
#9. Grinnell College
– Location: Grinnell, Iowa
– Acceptance rate: 19%
– Net price: $32,091
– SAT range: 1370-1540
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $49,100
– Overall rank: #73
#8. Case Western Reserve University
– Location: Cleveland, Ohio
– Acceptance rate: 30%
– Net price: $36,002
– SAT range: 1340-1520
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $74,600
– Overall rank: #65
#7. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
– Location: Urbana, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 63%
– Net price: $13,517
– SAT range: 1200-1460
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $61,500
– Overall rank: #59
#6. University of Wisconsin
– Location: Madison, Wisconsin
– Acceptance rate: 57%
– Net price: $14,030
– SAT range: 1260-1460
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $56,200
– Overall rank: #53
#5. University of Michigan – Ann Arbor
– Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
– Acceptance rate: 26%
– Net price: $17,832
– SAT range: 1340-1520
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $63,400
– Overall rank: #25
#4. University of Notre Dame
– Location: Notre Dame, Indiana
– Acceptance rate: 19%
– Net price: $29,981
– SAT range: 1400-1550
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $78,400
– Overall rank: #19
#3. University of Chicago
– Location: Chicago, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 7%
– Net price: $36,584
– SAT range: 1500-1570
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $68,100
– Overall rank: #16
#2. Washington University in St. Louis
– Location: Saint Louis, Missouri
– Acceptance rate: 16%
– Net price: $27,233
– SAT range: 1480-1560
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $70,100
– Overall rank: #15
#1. Northwestern University
– Location: Evanston, Illinois
– Acceptance rate: 9%
– Net price: $28,344
– SAT range: 1430-1550
– Median earnings six years after graduation: $69,000
– Overall rank: #14
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