Affordable Private Colleges in Illinois
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
40 private colleges in Illinois are listed here, 40 of them reporting a net price. They run from $10,970 a year at Saint Xavier University to $49,790 at School of the Art Institute of Chicago, with a middle of about $21,044.
The cheapest are Saint Xavier University, Dominican University and National Louis University. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in Illinois, cheapest first · 40
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
- Saint Xavier University
- Dominican University
- National Louis University
- University of St Francis
- University of Chicago
- North Park University
- Lewis University
- Monmouth College
- Eureka College
- Illinois College
- Illinois Institute of Technology
- Concordia University-Chicago
- Blackburn College
- Judson University
- Aurora University
- Trinity Christian College
- Greenville University
- Roosevelt University
- Quincy University
- Olivet Nazarene University
- North Central College
- East-West University
- Millikin University
- Moody Bible Institute
- Benedictine University
- Rockford University
- Bradley University
- Augustana College
- Elmhurst University
- Knox College
- McKendree University
- Columbia College Chicago
- Wheaton College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Lake Forest College
- Northwestern University
- DePaul University
- Loyola University Chicago
- Methodist College
- School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in Illinois?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Saint Xavier University at about $10,970 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do private colleges in Illinois cost on average?
- Across the 40 private colleges in Illinois that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $21,044 a year after aid, running from $10,970 to $49,790.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the private colleges listed here it runs from 15% to 62%, with a middle of about 38%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free