These days, talk of college feels fraught with discussions about labyrinthian student loan legislation, rapidly rising tuition costs and the sovereignty of thought at universities. But that national tenor hasn’t changed U.S. News & World Report’s tune: The outlet has released its annual ranking of the top universities in the U.S., sending prospective students into a tizzy over application deadlines and long gone graduates like myself into a thought spiral: Were those loans really worth it? Depends on the day. Have I lost my physical diploma forever? Almost certainly.

According to U.S. World News & Report’s Best National Universities Rankings for the 2025–26 school year, Illinois is now home to four of the country’s best universities. Of those four universities, two are stationed in Ch

See Full Page