TuitionScope

Colleges in Illinois for 1300 SAT Scores: Where You Fall in the Middle 50%

Illinois has 33 main-campus colleges that report SAT percentiles to College Scorecard. A score of 1300 on the SAT is inside the middle 50% at 10 of them, below the 25th percentile at 3 (a reach) and above the 75th percentile at 20 (above typical).

Those 10 typical colleges have a median net price of $25,785 and a median acceptance rate of 77%. By sector, 1 public and 9 private nonprofit; 10 report a test-optional policy.

Acceptance rates in this group run from 39% at Illinois Wesleyan University to 87% at Wheaton College, so a score inside the middle 50% says little about an admission decision. The lowest net price among them is $10,974 at University of Illinois Chicago.

Nationwide, the 291 typical colleges for this score have a median net price of $25,121 and a median acceptance rate of 73%; in Illinois the figures are $25,785 and 77%. Test-optional colleges among the 10 in Illinois: 10. Test-optional colleges often publish ranges that skew high.

How the groups are defined

One rule sorts every college, using the 25th and 75th percentile scores in the College Scorecard data. We never say a college will admit a score; we only show where it falls.

Who is counted
College Scorecard describes these percentiles as the middle 50% of first-time students who enrolled in the fall of 2024; admitted students who did not enroll are not included. Colleges can only report scores for students who submitted them, and colleges that do not require tests often report mostly higher scorers, so their ranges tend to skew high.
  • Reach. Your score is below the school's 25th percentile.
  • Typical. Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
  • Above typical. Your score is above the school's 75th percentile.
  • SAT totals are approximate. Scorecard publishes 25th and 75th percentiles for the Reading and Writing and Math sections but not for the total, so we add the two 25th percentiles and the two 75th percentiles. Across the 866 colleges that also report Scorecard's average SAT score, the midpoint of that range differs from the average by a median of 15 points (90% are within 45).
  • We do not convert between the SAT and the ACT. This page uses SAT scores only; the other test has its own pages.
Test policy
The test policy comes from the admissions field Scorecard calls ADMCON7. We tag a college as test-optional when it reports that tests are neither required nor recommended, or are considered only if submitted. Test-optional colleges among the 10 typical ones: 10.
Left out: 1,471 of 2,356 main-campus colleges with missing or suppressed SAT percentiles, and 19 dropped because their figures contradict themselves: Scorecard's own average SAT score falls outside the summed section range, so the percentiles and the average describe different groups of students. None had a 25th percentile above the 75th or a value outside the valid range. 866 colleges are counted.
Data periodTest score percentiles: fall 2024 entering class. Acceptance rate: fall 2024 applicants. Net price: average for students receiving aid, academic year 2023-24 (in-state price at public colleges).
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 2026 release.

Read the full methodology Test-optional colleges and how to read SAT/ACT ranges

Typical: the middle 50% includes 1300 (10)

Your score is within the school's middle 50%, from the 25th to the 75th percentile. Sorted by net price, lowest first; colleges with no reported net price come last. Showing all 10.

1300 SAT: Typical
College Middle 50%
University of Illinois Chicago
Chicago, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $10,974 · Acceptance rate: 77%
1130–1350
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $18,425 · Acceptance rate: 55%
1180–1440
Trinity Christian College
Palos Heights, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $19,125 · Acceptance rate: 85%
1050–1320
North Central College
Naperville, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $21,044 · Acceptance rate: 77%
1055–1310
Knox College
Galesburg, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $24,595 · Acceptance rate: 71%
1180–1440
Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $26,975 · Acceptance rate: 87%
1260–1470
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $28,199 · Acceptance rate: 39%
1120–1340
Lake Forest College
Lake Forest, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $28,673 · Acceptance rate: 57%
1190–1393
DePaul University
Chicago, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $30,902 · Acceptance rate: 76%
1140–1330
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $36,079 · Acceptance rate: 82%
1170–1360

Reach: 1300 is below the 25th percentile (3)

Your score is below the school's 25th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 25th percentile is nearest above 1300. Showing all 3.

1300 SAT: Reach
College Middle 50%
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $14,355 · Acceptance rate: 42%
1310–1520
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $14,860 · Acceptance rate: 4%
1510–1580
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $29,167 · Acceptance rate: 8%
1510–1570

Above typical: 1300 is above the 75th percentile (20)

Your score is above the school's 75th percentile. Closest first: the colleges whose 75th percentile is nearest below 1300. Showing all 20.

1300 SAT: Above typical
College Middle 50%
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $22,736 · Acceptance rate: 63%
1030–1270
Elmhurst University
Elmhurst, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $24,185 · Acceptance rate: 74%
990–1260
Greenville University
Greenville, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $19,533 · Acceptance rate: 98%
771–1230
University of St Francis
Joliet, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $13,006 · Acceptance rate: 65%
1030–1220
Olivet Nazarene University
Bourbonnais, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $20,729 · Acceptance rate: 56%
950–1220
Lewis University
Romeoville, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $17,028 · Acceptance rate: 71%
960–1210
Monmouth College
Monmouth, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $17,133 · Acceptance rate: 91%
1000–1210
Illinois State University
Normal, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $19,398 · Acceptance rate: 88%
990–1210
University of Illinois Springfield
Springfield, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $9,833 · Acceptance rate: 86%
940–1200
Quincy University
Quincy, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $20,359 · Acceptance rate: 51%
1000–1200
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Edwardsville, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $14,889 · Acceptance rate: 98%
950–1190
Illinois College
Jacksonville, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $18,298 · Acceptance rate: 78%
883–1180
Roosevelt University
Chicago, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $20,194 · Acceptance rate: 97%
895–1175
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale
Carbondale, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $13,297 · Acceptance rate: 87%
900–1160
Aurora University
Aurora, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $18,838 · Acceptance rate: 81%
900–1150
Millikin University
Decatur, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $21,989 · Acceptance rate: 67%
860–1130
Judson University
Elgin, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $18,558 · Acceptance rate: 48%
816–1118
Dominican University
River Forest, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $11,745 · Acceptance rate: 90%
880–1100
Eastern Illinois University
Charleston, IL
Public · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $12,786 · Acceptance rate: 65%
880–1090
Rockford University
Rockford, IL
Private nonprofit · 4-year · Test-optional
Net price: $22,436 · Acceptance rate: 93%
850–1070

National view

See all 291 typical colleges nationwide for 1300 SAT

More Illinois score bands

1300 SAT in other states

Nearby SAT scores

Every SAT score page

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