Best Midwest

Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Missouri (MO), Nebraska (NE), North Dakota (ND), Ohio (OH), South Dakota (SD), and Wisconsin (WI)

For our "2026 Best Colleges: Region by Region" web feature, we salute 631 colleges in seven zones—Northeast, South, Southwest, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, West, and International (outside of the United States)—that we consider academically outstanding and well worth consideration in your college search.

Please note that these lists are not ranked. These lists appear in alphabetical order. Schools marked "featured" have paid a fee for that designation but not for inclusion in this list.


Showing 26 - 50 of 149 results

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Featured Our marketing partner institutions Popularity Sorted by number of views Size Sorted by total enrollment Name Listed in alphabetical order

Purdue University—West Lafayette

  • West Lafayette, IN
  • •
  • 39,170 Full-Time Enrollment

Southern Illinois University–Carbondale

  • Carbondale, IL
  • •
  • 8,553 Full-Time Enrollment

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  • Champaign, IL
  • •
  • 38,572 Full-Time Enrollment

The Ohio State University–Columbus

  • Columbus, OH
  • •
  • 46,627 Full-Time Enrollment

Huntington University

  • Huntington, IN
  • •
  • 1,053 Full-Time Enrollment

Southeast Missouri State University

  • Cape Girardeau, MO
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  • 8,454 Full-Time Enrollment

Manchester University

  • North Manchester, IN
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  • 1,078 Full-Time Enrollment

Ohio University—Athens

  • Athens, OH
  • •
  • 20,786 Full-Time Enrollment

Ohio Wesleyan University

  • Delaware, OH
  • •
  • 1,652 Full-Time Enrollment

Millikin University

  • Decatur, IL
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  • 1,496 Full-Time Enrollment

Ohio Northern University

  • Ada, OH
  • •
  • 2,730 Full-Time Enrollment

Denison University

  • Granville, OH
  • •
  • 2,458 Full-Time Enrollment

Grace College and Seminary

  • Winona Lake, IN
  • •
  • 2,029 Full-Time Enrollment

The University of Findlay

  • Findlay, OH
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  • 4,062 Full-Time Enrollment

Saint Louis University

  • Saint Louis, MO
  • •
  • 9,331 Full-Time Enrollment

Kenyon College

  • Gambier, OH
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  • 2,052 Full-Time Enrollment

Washington University in St. Louis

  • St. Louis, MO
  • •
  • 8,153 Full-Time Enrollment

Illinois Wesleyan University

  • Bloomington, IL
  • •
  • 1,683 Full-Time Enrollment

Principia College

  • Elsah, IL
  • •
  • 339 Full-Time Enrollment

Valparaiso University

  • Valparaiso, IN
  • •
  • 2,056 Full-Time Enrollment

Trine University

  • Angola, IN
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  • 4,311 Full-Time Enrollment

University of Notre Dame

  • Notre Dame, IN
  • •
  • 8,950 Full-Time Enrollment

Saint Mary's College (IN)

  • Notre Dame, IN
  • •
  • 1,577 Full-Time Enrollment

Ashland University

  • Ashland, OH
  • •
  • 3,307 Full-Time Enrollment

Illinois College

  • Jacksonville, IL
  • •
  • 937 Full-Time Enrollment

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