The Big Ten has long been synonymous with excellence in both athletics and academics. And with the addition of UCLA and USC in the near future, it looks to solidify its spot as the “smartest” of the Power 5 conferences.
You can get a world-class education at any Big Ten school. But if you want a degree that carries just a little more prestige and cachet, one that raises eyebrows when you mention where you went to school, this guide is for you. We list the Big Ten schools ranked academically and explain the reasoning behind each ranking.
Table of Contents
- The Big Ten Schools Ranked Academically
- #1: Northwestern University
- #2: University of California—Los Angeles (Future Member)
- #3: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
- #4: University of Wisconsin—Madison
- #5: University of Southern California (Future Member)
- #6: University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
- #7: Purdue University
- #8: The Ohio State University
- #9: University of Maryland—College Park
- #10: Penn State University
- #11: Rutgers University—New Brunswick
- #12: Indiana University—Bloomington
- #13: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- #14: University of Iowa
- #15: Michigan State University
- #16: University of Nebraska—Lincoln
The Big Ten Schools Ranked Academically
We do our rankings just a little differently than the big publications like U.S. News.
Our list considers many of the same factors — graduation rates and selectivity, for instance — but ignores ones we don’t feel impact the quality of education, such as alumni giving rates.
We also consider the strength of individual departments and programs within a school. For instance, the University of Illinois got a boost from its computer science and engineering departments.
Without further adieu, here’s our list of the Big Ten schools ranked academically.
#1: Northwestern University
- Location: Evanston, IL
- U.S. News ranking: #9
- Acceptance rate: 7%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,460-1,560
- Middle 50% ACT range: 33-35
- Graduation rate: 95%
Northwestern tops the Big Ten in academic prestige. It’s frequently referred to as an “Ivy adjacent” school — one that isn’t technically a member of the Ivy League but that can hold its own academically. Its academic peers include its similarly prestigious neighbor to the immediate south, the University of Chicago, along with Duke, Vanderbilt, and Johns Hopkins. Northwestern has the smallest student body of any Big Ten school and is the only private university in the conference.
#2: University of California—Los Angeles (Future Member)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #20
- Acceptance rate: 11%
- Middle 50% SAT range: N/A (test blind)
- Middle 50% ACT range: N/A (test blind)
- Graduation rate: 91%
Berkeley students and alums will chaff at this statement, but UCLA is the top public university in America. It’s the biggest research powerhouse in the country, it’s highly selective with an acceptance rate of under 11% and dropping, and it gets more applications than any other college or university. Like all schools in the University of California system, UCLA recently went test blind, meaning not only are SAT and ACT scores not required for admission, but the school doesn’t consider them even if you submit them.
#3: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
- Location: Ann Arbor, MI
- U.S. News ranking: #23
- Acceptance rate: 20%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,360-1,530
- Middle 50% ACT range: 31-35
- Graduation rate: 93%
Michigan is generally regarded as one of the top public universities in the nation, along with UCLA, UC-Berkeley, and UNC-Chapel Hill. Its engineering and computer science departments are top notch, as is its business school. With a 20% acceptance rate and an average ACT score of 33 for incoming students, Michigan is becoming a tough admit, especially if you’re from out of state.
#4: University of Wisconsin—Madison
- Location: Madison, WI
- U.S. News ranking: #42
- Acceptance rate: 60%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,350-1,480
- Middle 50% ACT range: 28-32
- Graduation rate: 88%
UW-Madison is prestigious not only on a national level but on an international level. It has highly regarded departments in computer science, engineering, business, and more. It’s deceivingly difficult to get into; don’t let the acceptance rate of 60% fool you. The school’s applicant pool is highly self-selective, meaning Wisconsin residents without high stats usually don’t bother applying. The acceptance rate from out of state is well under 50%.
#5: University of Southern California (Future Member)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #27
- Acceptance rate: 13%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,330-1,520
- Middle 50% ACT range: 30-34
- Graduation rate: 92%
USC is a fantastic university that you could easily argue should be #4 or even #3 on this list. The reason we slotted it below Wisconsin despite its higher U.S. News ranking, higher test scores, higher graduation rate and significantly lower acceptance rate is because of its reputation. Yes, people are starting to wake up to what a high-quality and highly selective institution USC is, but it still hasn’t fully shaken its “University of Spoiled Children” stigma from the 1980s and 1990s. If you want to work in the film industry, there’s no better place in America to study. The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism is also elite. And the weather beats the pants off (literally!) of any other Big Ten school except perhaps the other newcomer, UCLA.
#6: University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign
- Location: Urbana, IL
- U.S. News ranking: #47
- Acceptance rate: 60%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,340-1,510
- Middle 50% ACT range: 29-34
- Graduation rate: 85%
UIUC gets a boost in our list over its similarly ranked (at least according to U.S. News) peers Purdue and Ohio State because of its engineering and particularly its computer science department, which is one of the most prestigious in the nation, ranking alongside behemoths like MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and Georgia Tech. In fact, while the university as a whole accepts 60% of its applicants, the acceptance rate for CS is barely 10%.
#7: Purdue University
- Location: West Lafayette, IN
- U.S. News ranking: #49
- Acceptance rate: 69%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,190-1,430
- Middle 50% ACT range: 26-33
- Graduation rate: 81%
Purdue is known as a top-notch engineering school, and it’s one that you don’t need world-beating stats to get into, as evidenced by its nearly 70% acceptance rate. That said, its SAT and ACT score midranges indicate at least some degree of self-selectivity within the applicant pool. It’s also worth pointing out that Purdue has highly respected programs outside of engineering, including in the humanities and writing. Its Online Writing Lab (OWL) is used by other universities around the world to help students improve their composition skills.
#8: The Ohio State University
- Location: Columbus, OH
- U.S. News ranking: #49
- Acceptance rate: 57%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,260-1,420
- Middle 50% ACT range: 26-32
- Graduation rate: 85%
THE Ohio State University (leave out the first part in front of a student or alum and they’ll let you know about it) has made huge strides from its open-admission days of the 20th century. While it still accepts more than half its applicants, tOSU’s incoming student stats are strong, as is its graduation rate of 85%. That number is particularly impressive when you consider just how massive the university is. With nearly 50,000 undergraduates, Ohio State is one of the largest universities in the nation.
#9: University of Maryland—College Park
- Location: College Park, MD
- U.S. News ranking: #59
- Acceptance rate: 52%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,340-1,490
- Middle 50% ACT range: 30-34
- Graduation rate: 86%
Maryland has impressive incoming student stats, with an average SAT of 1,420 and an average ACT of 32. It accepts about half its applicants, suggesting that the students who apply self-select (i.e., they don’t bother to fill out an application if they don’t feel they have the stats to get in). As a newer member of the conference, however, it doesn’t carry quite the cachet of Purdue, Illinois, or Wisconsin. It also doesn’t have any particular programs or departments that stand out, which is why it’s ranked a little lower here than its stats might suggest.
#10: Penn State University
- Location: State College, PA
- U.S. News ranking: #63
- Acceptance rate: 58%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,200-1,400
- Middle 50% ACT range: 26-32
- Graduation rate: 86%
Penn State is the quintessential Big Ten college experience. It has a picturesque campus in a thriving college town in rural Pennsylvania. Its football stadium is one of the largest in the country. Its incoming students are impressive, too, with an average SAT of 1,300 and ACT of 29. Penn State graduates 86% of its students within six years, a respectable feat for such a large state institution.
#11: Rutgers University—New Brunswick
- Location: New Brunswick, NJ
- U.S. News ranking: #63
- Acceptance rate: 67%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,180-1,410
- Middle 50% ACT range: 25-32
- Graduation rate: 82%
Rutgers University “feels” the least Big Ten out of all the schools in the conference. Its campus is in a crowded, suburban area of Northern New Jersey. It’s just a 30-minute train ride from Manhattan. Its admissions standards are fairly lax for in-state students, but it still manages to graduate more than 80 percent of those students within six years. In majors such as engineering, however, Rutgers holds its own against the top universities in the country.
#12: Indiana University—Bloomington
- Location: Bloomington, IN
- U.S. News ranking: #68
- Acceptance rate: 85%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,160-1,380
- Middle 50% ACT range: 26-32
- Graduation rate: 79%
Indiana University (or “IU” as it’s called by students and alums) might be known for basketball and Bob Knight, but its academic chops aren’t too shabby, either. In particular, the Kelley School of Business has an impressive national reputation and regularly funnels graduates into top consulting, banking, and finance jobs. The Bloomington campus offers the consummate Big Ten college life, and Assembly Hall is a top-five college basketball venue in the nation.
#13: University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
- Location: Minneapolis, MN
- U.S. News ranking: #68
- Acceptance rate: 73%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,320-1,470
- Middle 50% ACT range: 27-32
- Graduation rate: 82%
The University of Minnesota has impressive incoming student stats and a high graduation rate. Its urban Twin Cities location is ideal for students who prefer a city lifestyle over a traditional college experience. It would probably be ranked ahead of Indiana and Rutgers but for the fact that it doesn’t have any particular departments or majors that stand out. It also has a higher-than-average commuter population for a Big Ten school.
#14: University of Iowa
- Location: Iowa City, IA
- U.S. News ranking: #83
- Acceptance rate: 86%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,140-1,330
- Middle 50% ACT range: 22-29
- Graduation rate: 73%
Iowa offers an amazing campus experience in a thriving college town and has some of the happiest students in the country. It’s also one of the friendliest places imaginable. While other schools’ football traditions involve obscene chants toward the other team (like CU-Boulder’s “F— ’em up, f— ’em up, go CU!”), at Kinnick Stadium, Iowa fans turn and wave to the patients at the nearby Stead Family Children’s Hospital before the 4th quarter of every game.
Iowa draws an unusually large number of students from the suburbs of Chicago. These students often choose it over UIUC because Iowa City feels like more of a college town than Urbana-Champaign, and also because Iowa is less of an engineering school. Iowa is most known for its top-notch writing programs. It loses points in this ranking because of its low graduation rate.
#15: Michigan State University
- Location: East Lansing, MI
- U.S. News ranking: #83
- Acceptance rate: 83%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,110-1,310
- Middle 50% ACT range: 23-29
- Graduation rate: 81%
There’s an old joke people tell in Ann Arbor: What do a Michigan grad and a Michigan State grad have in common? They both got into Michigan State. While the acceptance rates of the two schools (20% versus 83%) suggest a level of truth to that joke, it doesn’t do justice to what a quality institution MSU is. It has over an 80% graduation rate, and many of those students continue on to top med schools, law schools, and graduate programs. MSU comes in just below Iowa because it lacks an individual major or department with the national prestige of Iowa’s writing program.
#16: University of Nebraska—Lincoln
- Location: Lincoln, NE
- U.S. News ranking: #136
- Acceptance rate: 88%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,100-1,310
- Middle 50% ACT range: 22-28
- Graduation rate: 67%
When Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011, many conference stalwarts lamented its arrival, fearing that the Cornhuskers would lower the conference’s overall academic profile. It’s true that Nebraska’s stats are far lower than the rest of the conference. Its graduation rate is only 67%, and the university ranks well outside the top 100 in U.S. News. While Nebraska is undoubtedly the least academically prestigious Big Ten school, it’s making steps forward, and you can get a high-quality education there. Just ask Warren Buffett, one of the five richest people in the world and a UNL degree-holder.
