Find Colleges for Your GPA

Find target, reach, and safety schools based on your GPA, with acceptance rates and test score data for thousands of colleges.

Where your 4.2 fits: Safety, Target or Reach, from each college's reported average GPA and acceptance rate. A guide, not a prediction.

Colleges in IllinoisEvery college we list in Illinois, with its average GPA and test scores where it reports them.

Showing 30 of 117 colleges
Colleges that report an average GPA (12) · best fit first
Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,55% admitted
Average GPA4.20Weighted, as reported by the college for 2023⁠–⁠24
SAT, middle 50%590–720 R&W590–720 Math
ACT, middle 50%26–32
Your 4.2their average 4.20Target
University of Illinois ChicagoChicago, Illinois Public, 4-yearEasy to get into,77% admitted
Average GPA3.45As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%570–670 R&W560–680 Math
ACT, middle 50%25–31
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.45Safety
Illinois State UniversityNormal, Illinois Public, 4-yearEasy to get into,88% admitted
Average GPA3.62As reported by the college for 2024⁠–⁠25
SAT, middle 50%500–620 R&W490–590 Math
ACT, middle 50%21–27
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.62Safety
Loyola University ChicagoChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,82% admitted
Average GPA3.74As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%600–690 R&W570–670 Math
ACT, middle 50%27–32
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.74Safety
Columbia College ChicagoChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,89% admitted
Average GPA3.52As reported by the college for 2024⁠–⁠25
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.52Safety
Aurora UniversityAurora, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,81% admitted
Average GPA3.51As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%470–580 R&W430–570 Math
ACT, middle 50%21–29
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.51Safety
Dominican UniversityRiver Forest, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,90% admitted
Average GPA3.75As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%460–560 R&W420–540 Math
ACT, middle 50%16–26
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.75Safety
North Central CollegeNaperville, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,77% admitted
Average GPA3.57As reported by the college for 2024⁠–⁠25
SAT, middle 50%530–650 R&W525–660 Math
ACT, middle 50%24–29
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.57Safety
Benedictine UniversityLisle, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,95% admitted
Average GPA3.21As reported by the college for 2024⁠–⁠25
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.21Safety
Augustana CollegeRock Island, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,63% admitted
Average GPA3.40As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%520–630 R&W510–640 Math
ACT, middle 50%21–29
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.40not comparable with a weighted GPA
Illinois Wesleyan UniversityBloomington, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearModerate to get into,39% admitted
Average GPA3.82As reported by the college for 2024⁠–⁠25
SAT, middle 50%550–670 R&W570–670 Math
ACT, middle 50%25–30
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.82not comparable with a weighted GPA
Quincy UniversityQuincy, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,51% admitted
Average GPA3.47As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%490–600 R&W510–600 Math
ACT, middle 50%20–25
Your 4.2their 4.0-scale average 3.47not comparable with a weighted GPA
More colleges in your filters (no GPA reported)
University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChampaign, Illinois Public, 4-yearModerate to get into,42% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%650–740 R&W660–780 Math
ACT, middle 50%30–34
DeVry University IllinoisLisle, Illinois Private for-profit, 4-yearEasy to get into,98% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%330–540 R&W370–490 Math
ACT, middle 50%11–19
DePaul UniversityChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,76% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%580–670 R&W560–660 Math
ACT, middle 50%25–31
Chamberlain University IllinoisAddison, Illinois Private for-profit, 4-yearEasy to get into,83% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Northern Illinois UniversityDekalb, Illinois Public, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,70% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Northwestern UniversityEvanston, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearVery hard to get into,7.7% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%740–770 R&W770–800 Math
ACT, middle 50%33–35
Southern Illinois University EdwardsvilleEdwardsville, Illinois Public, 4-yearEasy to get into,98% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%490–600 R&W460–590 Math
ACT, middle 50%20–27
Southern Illinois University CarbondaleCarbondale, Illinois Public, 4-yearEasy to get into,87% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%470–590 R&W430–570 Math
ACT, middle 50%18–25
University of ChicagoChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearVery hard to get into,4.5% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%740–780 R&W770–800 Math
ACT, middle 50%34–35
Eastern Illinois UniversityCharleston, Illinois Public, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,65% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%460–560 R&W420–530 Math
ACT, middle 50%–
Western Illinois UniversityMacomb, Illinois Public, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,71% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
National Louis UniversityChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,95% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Lewis UniversityRomeoville, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,71% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%490–600 R&W470–610 Math
ACT, middle 50%20–27
Northeastern Illinois UniversityChicago, Illinois Public, 4-yearEasy to get into,75% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Bradley UniversityPeoria, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,77% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Elmhurst UniversityElmhurst, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearFairly easy to get into,74% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%510–640 R&W480–620 Math
ACT, middle 50%23–30
Saint Xavier UniversityChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,84% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%–
ACT, middle 50%–
Roosevelt UniversityChicago, Illinois Private nonprofit, 4-yearEasy to get into,97% admitted
Average GPA–
SAT, middle 50%465–600 R&W430–575 Math
ACT, middle 50%18–26
Browse by GPA 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3
Browse by state Alabama 59 Alaska 7 Arizona 40 Arkansas 47 California 286 Colorado 42 Connecticut 28 Delaware 5 Washington, D.C. 11 Florida 100 Georgia 89 Hawaii 14 Idaho 13 Illinois 117 Indiana 50 Iowa 52 Kansas 53 Kentucky 50 Louisiana 48 Maine 26 Maryland 45 Massachusetts 92 Michigan 77 Minnesota 69 Mississippi 33 Missouri 76 Montana 23 Nebraska 32 Nevada 10 New Hampshire 21 New Jersey 59 New Mexico 29 New York 223 North Carolina 122 North Dakota 19 Ohio 139 Oklahoma 41 Oregon 41 Pennsylvania 160 Rhode Island 12 South Carolina 55 South Dakota 19 Tennessee 66 Texas 164 Utah 18 Vermont 10 Virginia 82 Washington 62 West Virginia 32 Wisconsin 55 Wyoming 8 Northern Mariana Islands 1

How to read the figures

Example: how a college appears in the list
University of MichiganAnn Arbor, Michigan Public, 4-yearHard to get into,16% admitted
Average GPA3.90As reported by the college for 2025⁠–⁠26
SAT, middle 50%680–750 R&W680–780 Math
ACT, middle 50%31–34
  • How hard it is to get in: the share of first-year applicants the college admitted for fall 2024. Very hard is under 10%, Hard 10–24%, Moderate 25–49%, Fairly easy 50–74% and Easy 75% or more. Open admission colleges accept everyone, so they have no rate.
  • Average GPA: the average high school GPA of the college's first-year students, from the college's own yearly report (its Common Data Set), with the year and, when the college says, whether it's weighted. Colleges calculate GPA in different ways, so use it as a rough guide, not a cutoff.
  • Safety, Target and Reach: with your GPA in the box, where it fits at each college that reports an average GPA. Your GPA is compared with the college's average (0.15 or more above it, close to it, or below it), and the acceptance rate decides how much that counts: a college that admits under 15% of applicants is a reach for everyone. Colleges that don't report an average get no label: we never estimate one.
  • SAT: the middle 50% of scores of first-year students who sent them, for reading and writing (R&W) and math. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above it.
  • ACT: the middle 50% of overall ACT scores, read the same way.

A dash means the college didn't report that figure.

Where the data comes from

FigureSourceData year
Acceptance rate, SAT and ACT rangesThe U.S. Department of Education's yearly college surveyFall 2024
Average high school GPA (268 colleges)Each college's own yearly report (Common Data Set)2023–24 to 2025–26
Average SAT for the SAT filter and sortCollege Scorecard, U.S. Department of EducationLatest available

Each college's page also has its enrollment, net price, admission factors and policies on AP and dual credit from the same survey, and gives the year of every figure. Admission policies change every year, so check anything important with the college's admissions office.

Sources

Reviewed by the GPA Calculator team · Updated October 2026

  1. IPEDS: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data SystemU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
  2. College Scorecard dataU.S. Department of Education (June 10, 2026 release)
  3. Common Data Set InitiativeThe standard format colleges use to publish their own admissions data