The Great Lakes region is home to thousands of lakes, beautiful destinations like Indiana Dunes, Marquette Ore docks, and Sleeping Bear dunes, and some even more amazing "Hidden Gem" colleges. The Hidden Gems highlighted here include highly ranked colleges from Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Each of these rankings is based on an analysis of data about the school's selectivity, financial health, graduation rates, student success, and more. We've outlined our full methodology here.
| Rank | Institution | Acceptance Rate | SAT Score | Your Est. Net Price Avg. Net Price | Median Starting Salary | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hillsdale College | 20.72 | 1,350 – 1,480 | 26030 | 63721 |
#1
Hillsdale College
|
| 2 | Wheaton College | 89.98 | 1,270 – 1,440 | 31346 | 50270 |
#2
Wheaton College
|
| 3 | Wabash College | 63.3 | 1,070 – 1,280 | 23913 | 52667 |
#3
Wabash College
|
| 4 | Lawrence University | 63.94 | 1,190 – 1,410 | 27393 | 40653 |
#4
Lawrence University
|
| 5 | Principia College | 42.99 | 1,060 – 1,250 | 14904 | 63721 |
#5
Principia College
|
| 6 | Taylor University | 73.53 | 1,120 – 1,360 | 25698 | 45142 |
#6
Taylor University
|
| 7 | John Carroll University | 80.9 | 1,200 – 1,390 | 30790 | 53187 |
#7
John Carroll University
|
| 8 | Kalamazoo College | 75.33 | 1,210 – 1,380 | 26050 | 46137 |
#8
Kalamazoo College
|
| 9 | Saint Mary's College | 75.97 | 1,160 – 1,340 | 30389 | 53470 |
#9
Saint Mary's College
|
| 10 | Beloit College | 63.04 | 1,210 – 1,390 | 24941 | 41660 |
#10
Beloit College
|
| 11 | Saint Norbert College | 85.74 | 1,080 – 1,310 | 27236 | 49775 |
#11
Saint Norbert College
|
| 12 | Ohio Northern University | 73.35 | 1,210 – 1,370 | 26396 | 62686 |
#12
Ohio Northern University
|
| 13 | Earlham College | 73.11 | 1,130 – 1,340 | 26517 | 35430 |
#13
Earlham College
|
| 14 | Franciscan University of Steubenville | 72.23 | 1,110 – 1,340 | 24490 | 42037 |
#14
Franciscan University of Steubenville
|
| 15 | Knox College | 70.79 | 1,170 – 1,440 | 25524 | 37757 |
#15
Knox College
|
| 16 | Hanover College | 83.97 | 1,130 – 1,300 | 22929 | 42876 |
#16
Hanover College
|
| 17 | Otterbein University | 84.52 | 990 – 1,240 | 22242 | 44539 |
#17
Otterbein University
|
| 18 | Baldwin Wallace University | 75.7 | 1,090 – 1,300 | 28190 | 44972 |
#18
Baldwin Wallace University
|
| 19 | North Central College | 77.33 | 1,090 – 1,320 | 24190 | 51762 |
#19
North Central College
|
| 20 | Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion | 82.21 | 1,050 – 1,220 | 23364 | 51329 |
#20
Indiana Wesleyan University-Marion
|
| 21 | University of Evansville | 78.13 | 1,090 – 1,330 | 21611 | 46734 |
#21
University of Evansville
|
| 22 | Grace College and Theological Seminary | 80.78 | 970 – 1,190 | 21680 | 41463 |
#22
Grace College and Theological Seminary
|
| 23 | University of Mount Union | 80.13 | 1,000 – 1,210 | 22835 | 45919 |
#23
University of Mount Union
|
| 24 | Huntington University | 71.15 | 990 – 1,200 | 21149 | 40702 |
#24
Huntington University
|
| 25 | Trinity Christian College | 88.65 | 950 – 1,180 | 17218 | 48107 |
#25
Trinity Christian College
|
| 26 | Andrews University | 87.4 | 1,080 – 1,350 | 24874 | 43254 |
#26
Andrews University
|
| 27 | Trine University | 84.69 | 1,110 – 1,310 | 25580 | 53010 |
#27
Trine University
|
| 28 | Wittenberg University | 91.04 | 1,050 – 1,240 | 21457 | 42437 |
#28
Wittenberg University
|
| 29 | Cornerstone University | 73.16 | 1,010 – 1,240 | 23147 | 42598 | |
| 30 | Wisconsin Lutheran College | 78.16 | 1,130 – 1,340 | 22809 | 49095 |
#30
Wisconsin Lutheran College
|
| 31 | Ripon College | 83.92 | 1,040 – 1,280 | 22557 | 42334 |
#31
Ripon College
|
| 32 | Capital University | 70.22 | 960 – 1,210 | 22480 | 45767 |
#32
Capital University
|
| 33 | Goshen College | 84.04 | 880 – 1,110 | 17040 | 43218 |
#33
Goshen College
|
| 34 | Illinois College | 78.19 | 910 – 1,200 | 17255 | 40110 |
#34
Illinois College
|
| 35 | Ashland University | 80.53 | 1,040 – 1,250 | 21971 | 47722 | |
| 36 | Kettering University | 78.67 | 1,100 – 1,310 | 33616 | 80275 |
#36
Kettering University
|
| 37 | Judson University | 62.4 | 910 – 1,190 | 21331 | 45374 |
#37
Judson University
|
| 38 | Concordia University-Wisconsin | 78.19 | 1,110 – 1,310 | 28060 | 49761 |
#38
Concordia University-Wisconsin
|
| 39 | Franklin College | 69.78 | 1,060 – 1,240 | 23843 | 45635 |
#39
Franklin College
|
| 40 | Northwood University | 83.9 | 970 – 1,180 | 26429 | 54058 |
#40
Northwood University
|
| 41 | Walsh University | 78.15 | 1,040 – 1,260 | 21009 | 50090 |
#41
Walsh University
|
| 42 | Heidelberg University | 67.73 | 1,020 – 1,180 | 19620 | 41440 | |
| 43 | Mount Vernon Nazarene University | 84.3 | 1,010 – 1,280 | 23293 | 43046 |
#43
Mount Vernon Nazarene University
|
| 44 | Viterbo University | 72.43 | 1,110 – 1,250 | 23901 | 56804 |
#44
Viterbo University
|
| 45 | Marian University | 95.32 | 970 – 1,200 | 23225 | 55704 |
#45
Marian University
|
| 46 | The University of Findlay | 86.15 | 1,010 – 1,240 | 26215 | 49757 |
#46
The University of Findlay
|
| 47 | Malone University | 75.86 | 970 – 1,180 | 23362 | 43056 |
#47
Malone University
|
| 48 | Bethel University | 98.68 | 880 – 1,180 | 20058 | 44271 |
#48
Bethel University
|
| 49 | Northland College | 78.87 | 1,050 – 1,250 | 24020 | 35819 |
#49
Northland College
|
| 50 | University of Illinois Springfield | 84.37 | 1,040 – 1,240 | 9241 | 47432 |
#50
University of Illinois Springfield
|
| 51 | Spring Arbor University | 37.33 | 1,010 – 1,230 | 21720 | 45592 |
#51
Spring Arbor University
|
| 52 | Monmouth College | 86.6 | 1,050 – 1,250 | 19088 | 43158 |
#52
Monmouth College
|
| 53 | Edgewood College | 94.52 | 1,040 – 1,210 | 26692 | 53843 |
#53
Edgewood College
|
| 54 | University of St Francis | 65.3 | 900 – 1,160 | 16455 | 56648 |
#54
University of St Francis
|
School data is from 2022–2023 (top 500 results shown) for schools with at least 100 undergraduate students.
Join thousands of students and parents learning about finding the right college, admissions secrets, scholarships, financial aid, and more.