Match #1
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL
Profile closeness91/100
Admit rate98%
- 8,750 students
- Public
- Suburb: Large
- Graduation rate 56%, close to 59%
- Enrollment 8,750 students, close to 8,494
The colleges most similar to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale are Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Northern Illinois University, and Illinois State University. Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admits 87% of applicants and has an average net price of $12,554 a year; 4 of its 10 alternatives cost less and 2 admit a larger share of applicants, in the CollegesRef 2026–27 edition.
Profile closeness (0–100) compares graduation rate, size, admit rate, net price, Carnegie class, and control with Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. The order also uses CollegesRef matching tiers, so a later match can score higher. Admit-rate bars use a 0–100% scale.
Top 10 alternatives to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Row-wise results ranked by similarity. No curated AI list exists for this school.
Match #2
Northern Illinois University
Dekalb, IL
Profile closeness81/100
Admit rate70%
- 11,301 students
- Public
- Suburb: Small
- Enrollment 11,301 students, close to 8,494
- Average net price $14,505, close to $12,554
Match #3
Illinois State University
Normal, IL
Profile closeness79/100
Admit rate88%
- 19,057 students
- Public
- Suburb: Midsize
- Acceptance rate 88%, close to 87%
- Same Carnegie classification
Match #4
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, IL
Profile closeness78/100
Admit rate77%
- 22,170 students
- Public
- City: Large
- Graduation rate 61%, close to 59%
- Acceptance rate 77%, close to 87%
Match #5
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL
Profile closeness73/100
Admit rate65%
- 4,188 students
- Public
- Town: Distant
- Average net price $12,717, close to $12,554
- Same control type (public)
Match #6
Western Illinois University
Macomb, IL
Profile closeness72/100
Admit rate71%
- 4,410 students
- Public
- Town: Remote
- Average net price $10,018, close to $12,554
- Same control type (public)
Match #7
Northeastern Illinois University
Chicago, IL
Profile closeness53/100
Admit rate75%
- 3,982 students
- Public
- City: Large
- Same control type (public)
Match #8
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Main Campus
Champaign, IL
Profile closeness46/100
Admit rate42%
- 36,258 students
- Public
- City: Small
- Average net price $13,042, close to $12,554
- Same control type (public)
Match #9
Governors State University
University Park, IL
Profile closeness38/100
Admit rate48%
- 2,556 students
- Public
- Rural: Fringe
- Same control type (public)
Match #10
Chicago State University
Chicago, IL
Profile closeness25/100
Admit rate43%
- 1,384 students
- Public
- City: Large
- Same control type (public)
Questions about Southern Illinois University-Carbondale alternatives
What colleges are similar to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale?
The closest matches to Southern Illinois University-Carbondale are Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University, University of Illinois at Chicago, and Eastern Illinois University. CollegesRef ranks them on admissions, cost, graduation rate, size, and campus profile using IPEDS and College Scorecard data.
Is Southern Illinois University-Carbondale hard to get into?
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale admitted 87% of its 6,987 applicants in the CollegesRef 2026–27 edition, so it is not very selective: it admits most applicants. 2 of its 10 closest alternatives admit a larger share of applicants.
Which Southern Illinois University-Carbondale alternatives cost less?
4 of the 10 closest alternatives have a lower average net price than Southern Illinois University-Carbondale ($12,554 a year), including Chicago State University ($7,273), Northeastern Illinois University ($9,377), and University of Illinois at Chicago ($9,540). Net price is what first-time, full-time students paid after grants; your own price depends on family income.
