Prairie State Wire

Northwestern University and the University of Chicago were the only Illinois colleges to earn spots on the personal-finance website WalletHub’s top-50 ranking of the 2022 best colleges.

Northwestern finished seventh on the WalletHub list, while the University of Chicago came in 16th overall. The website analyzed more than 1,000 colleges and universities in the nation across 30 metrics, including student-faculty ratio, graduation rates, student-loan default rates and median salaries when graduates enter professional life.

Northwestern came in fourth in the general category of faculty resources and seventh in education outcomes. And the University of Chicago finished fourth in the category of highest admission rates and third in terms of low student-faculty ratios.

The WalletHub study graded universities on a 100-point scale. Northwestern University received a score of 76.26, while University of Chicago scored 74.14.

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Top-50 U.S. Universities for 2022

Overall Rank	University / College	State	Total Score	Student Selectivity	Cost & Financing	Faculty Resources	Campus Safety	Campus Experience	Education Outcomes	Career Outcomes
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA	79.11	2	931	7	507	50	3	5
2	Princeton University	NJ	79.03	6	807	14	783	28	26	25
3	California Institute of Technology	CA	78.4	1	939	1	647	102	42	2
4	Harvard University	MA	76.65	5	954	19	121	27	65	13
5	Yale University	CT	76.52	9	924	6	712	46	87	11
6	Rice University	TX	76.48	15	901	9	855	45	14	41
7	Northwestern University	IL	76.26	14	947	4	113	97	7	44
8	Duke University	NC	75.86	7	992	5	576	110	1	9
9	Stanford University	CA	75.27	4	980	38	376	43	34	21
10	Johns Hopkins University	MD	75.22	12	941	11	100	134	19	71
11	Vanderbilt University	TN	75.16	17	929	20	882	29	24	55
12	Columbia University	NY	74.76	8	987	15	134	18	4	28
13	Georgia Institute of Technology	GA	74.66	41	554	897	341	124	33	8
14	University of Pennsylvania	PA	74.61	11	1002	10	155	99	6	6
15	Williams College	MA	74.5	23	899	17	807	59	11	91
16	University of Chicago	IL	74.14	3	1012	2	158	60	5	53
17	University of California--Berkeley	CA	73.61	25	812	855	929	206	12	61
18	Dartmouth College	NH	73.28	13	981	58	906	85	9	49
19	Brown University	RI	73.03	10	1010	13	620	62	17	39
20	University of California--Los Angeles	CA	72.98	32	574	763	841	249	16	93
21	Carnegie Mellon University	PA	72.94	21	995	18	246	37	28	7
22	University of Florida	FL	72.91	59	50	674	97	607	36	229
23	Hamilton College	NY	72.9	35	925	33	852	55	47	67
24	Swarthmore College	PA	72.72	18	927	28	1007	31	10	99
25	University of Michigan--Ann Arbor	MI	72.66	49	785	197	677	545	21	72
26	Pomona College	CA	72.54	16	933	30	1015	17	41	116
27	University of California--Irvine	CA	72.53	57	298	766	474	72	60	127
28	Claremont McKenna College	CA	72.42	28	969	27	910	3	54	43
29	Cornell University	NY	72.34	19	991	106	260	155	8	36
30	Washington University in St. Louis	MO	72.29	20	986	24	506	137	22	42
31	Wellesley College	MA	72.29	39	917	76	389	20	25	126
32	Harvey Mudd College	CA	71.92	22	974	82	847	86	37	18
33	University of Virginia	VA	71.88	42	872	544	237	366	15	59
34	Amherst College	MA	71.82	26	961	49	954	64	20	94
35	Grinnell College	IA	71.71	46	835	42	537	6	106	260
36	Emory University	GA	71.71	37	958	104	289	40	32	74
37	Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art	NY	71.63	51	540	70	1	960	159	131
38	University of Notre Dame	IN	71.48	30	979	475	206	121	2	32
39	Georgetown University	DC	71.46	27	1000	295	135	104	23	1
40	University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill	NC	71.42	53	442	649	532	700	39	214
41	Washington and Lee University	VA	71.41	45	967	25	785	240	18	30
42	Carleton College	MN	71.39	43	945	44	799	51	13	128
43	Colby College	ME	70.43	31	983	43	897	35	63	76
44	Northeastern University	MA	70.35	38	955	465	192	114	29	69
45	University of Texas at Austin	TX	70.13	58	510	890	336	749	45	113
46	Case Western Reserve University	OH	70.13	55	885	192	422	47	95	73
47	Barnard College	NY	69.95	24	994	121	270	75	52	109
48	Vassar College	NY	69.84	52	928	51	878	36	57	129
49	Tufts University	MA	69.66	34	1011	139	136	100	35	26
50	University of Southern California	CA	69.55	33	989	205	203	135	40	50

Source: WalletHub.com