Student athletes have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Division III Women's Basketball in Illinois ranking.
Our analysis looked at 21 schools in Illinois to determine which ones were the best for D3 Women's Basketball athletes in Illinois. Our ranking methodology focuses a number of different objective factors - such as the overall quality of the school, the school's athletic competitiveness, and the amount of athletic aid per student - to make this determination. Having a great sports team is not enough - the school must also focus on academic excellence.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to online students or returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
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Top Colleges in Illinois for D3 Women's Basketball athletes in Illinois
Our analysis found Wheaton College Illinois to be the best school for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes in Illinois in this year’s ranking. Located in Wheaton, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 648 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Wheaton College Illinois took home $268,596 in revenue.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Wheaton College Illinois is ranked #4 for overall quality in Illinois.
Read full sports report on Wheaton College Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2,425 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at UChicago brought home $346,716 in revenue in a single year.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. UChicago also made our overall quality list, coming in at #2.
Full University of Chicago Sports Report
You’ll join some of the best athletes around if you attend Illinois Wesleyan University. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. Illinois Wesleyan University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Bloomington, Illinois that handed out 404 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Illinois Wesleyan made $228,247 in revenue.
On top of its placing in this ranking, Illinois Wesleyan also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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A rank of #4 on our list means Augustana College is a great place for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes in Illinois working on their bachelor’s degree. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Rock Island, Illinois, and it awarded 755 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Augustana brought home $182,640 in revenue in a single year.
As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Augustana also is in the top 20% of our overall quality ranking.
Read full sports report on Augustana College
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Knox College. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Colleges for D3 Women’s Basketball athletes in Illinois list. Located in Galesburg, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 332 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Knox brought home $175,346 in revenue in a single year.
In addition to its great ranking here, Knox is in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Elmhurst University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 831 bachelor’s degrees in .
Elmhurst brought in $201,168 while tallying up $192,841 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. That boils down to a yearly profit of $8,327 for the sports team.
Read full sports report on Elmhurst University
North Central College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking, coming in at #7. North Central is located in Naperville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In , this school awarded 653 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
North Central brought in $186,648 while tallying up $185,013 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $1,635 in profit.
Read full sports report on North Central College
Benedictine University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois list. Benedictine University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Lisle, Illinois that handed out 686 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Benedictine U made $501,508 in revenue, while incurring $464,770 in expenses. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $36,738.
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Greenville University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking, coming in at #9. Greenville is a private not-for-profit institution located in Greenville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 205 bachelor’s degrees in .
The team at Greenville took home $89,644 in revenue and paid out $87,278 in expenses in recent times. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $2,366 in profit.
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Illinois College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Jacksonville, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 323 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Illinois College brought home $178,399 in revenue in a single year.
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Lake Forest College landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. Lake Forest is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lake Forest, Illinois. It awarded 466 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at Lake Forest brought home $138,128 in revenue in a single year.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full Lake Forest College Sports Report
With a ranking of #12, Eureka College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. Eureka, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 143 students in .
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Eureka College took home $99,942 in revenue.
Read full sports report on Eureka College
North Park University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois list. North Park is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 369 bachelor’s degrees in .
The D3 Women’s Basketball team at North Park brought home $234,271 in revenue in a single year.
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Millikin University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking, coming in at #14. Located in Decatur, Illinois, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 414 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
Millikin brought in $277,180 while tallying up $271,525 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. That boils down to a yearly profit of $5,655 for the sports team.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Full Millikin University Sports Report
Dominican University ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois list. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 525 students in .
Speaking financially, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Dominican U took home $122,555 in revenue.
Full Dominican University Sports Report
Concordia University, Chicago came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. Located in River Forest, Illinois, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 329 bachelor’s degrees in .
Concordia University, Chicago brought in $135,277 while tallying up $130,632 in expenses for its D3 Women’s Basketball team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $4,645 in profit.
Full Concordia University, Chicago Sports Report
Monmouth College came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Monmouth, Illinois, and it awarded 189 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Monmouth made $71,383 in revenue.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full sports report on Monmouth College
Aurora University ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois list. Aurora University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Aurora, Illinois that handed out 1,249 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Aurora made $143,939 in revenue.
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Rockford University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois list. Rockford is located in Rockford, Illinois and, has a small student population. In , this school awarded 254 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Rockford made $124,646 in revenue.
Full Rockford University Sports Report
With a ranking of #21, Blackburn College did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Division III Women’s Basketball in Illinois ranking. Blackburn is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Carlinville, Illinois. It awarded 90 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the D3 Women’s Basketball team at Blackburn made $68,915 in revenue.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Blackburn College Sports Report
Best Colleges for D3 Women's Basketball in the Great Lakes Region
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 21 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
