“U.S. News & World Report’s” latest rankings name Elmhurst University the No. 3 school in the Midwest among Top Performers for Social Mobility, and No. 7 overall among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest.

In the Best Regional Universities–Midwest category, which includes 161 colleges and universities across 12 states, Elmhurst is the only Illinois university in the top 15.

Elmhurst also ranks No. 3 in the Best Colleges for Veterans category and No. 14 for Best Value in “U.S. News & World Report’s” 2026 Best Colleges rankings, which were released Sept. 23.

The magazine publishes the Best Colleges rankings each year to help prospective students and their families compare undergraduate programs at America’s colleges and universities.

The 2026 edition evaluates more than 1,700 U.S. colleges and universities, using up to 17 factors to measure academic quality and graduate success.

More about the U.S. News rankings:

The Top Performers for Social Mobility category describes colleges and universities that have been the most successful at advancing students’ social mobility by enrolling and graduating large proportions of economically disadvantaged students. More than half of Elmhurst’s undergraduate students are the first in their families to attend college, and nearly all receive some form of financial aid.The

The Best Colleges for Veterans rankings provide data on top-ranked schools that make pursuing a college education more affordable for veterans and active-duty service members. At Elmhurst, a $3.4 million gift helps to support veteran and military students on campus and is introducing more science, technology and mathematics majors to potential careers in national security and defense.

Calculating the Best Value Schools rankings involves considering a school’s academic quality [according to its 2026 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking] and the 2024-25 net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based scholarship or grant aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal.