Resources › For Students and Parents Top Wisconsin Colleges Learn About 11 of the Best Wisconsin Colleges and Universities Print For Students and Parents College Admissions College Rankings College Admissions Process College Profiles Choosing A College Application Tips Essay Samples & Tips Testing Graphs College Financial Aid Advanced Placement Homework Help Private School Test Prep College Life Graduate School Business School Law School Distance Learning View More By Allen Grove Allen Grove College Admissions Expert Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT Dr. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with over 20 years of experience helping students transition to college. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on January 28, 2020 Wisconsin has a wide range of options for both public and private institutions. From a large public research university like the University of Wisconsin at Madison to small eco-friendly Northland College, Wisconsin has schools to match a variety of student personalities and interests. The 11 top Wisconsin colleges below are listed alphabetically to avoid the often arbitrary distinctions used to distinguish #1 from #2, and because of the impossibility of comparing a small private college with a huge state institution. The schools were chosen based on their academic reputations, curricular innovations, first-year retention rates, six-year graduation rates, value, financial aid, and student engagement. Keep in mind that the criteria used for inclusion on this list may have little to do with the features that would make a college a good match for you. You might also want to compare Wisconsin colleges' SAT scores and ACT scores. Beloit College Middle College, Beloit College's First Building. Robin Zebrowski / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Location: Beloit, Wisconsin Enrollment: 1,394 (all undergraduate) Type of Institution: private liberal arts college Distinctions: 11 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 15; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; large number of graduates go on to earn PhDs; curriculum emphasizes experiential learning, independent research, and fieldwork Carroll University Photo Courtesy of Carroll University Location: Waukesha, Wisconsin Enrollment: 3,491 (3,001 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private Christian liberal arts college Distinctions: 15 to 1 student/faculty ratio; 50 student clubs and organizations; most students get grant aid; academic experience built upon "Four Pillars" of integrated knowledge, gateway experiences, lifelong skills, and enduring values Lawrence University Bonnie Brown / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Location: Appleton, WisconsinEnrollment: 1,528 (all undergraduate)Type of Institution: private liberal arts college and music conservatoryDistinctions: 9 to 1 student/faculty ratio; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; featured in Loren Pope's Colleges That Change Lives; 90% of students have one-on-one instruction by graduation; 44 international programs Read More Top Washington State Colleges By Allen Grove Marquette University Marquette Hall. Tim Cigelske / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Enrollment: 11,294 (8,238 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private Catholic university Distinctions: chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; 14 to 1 student/faculty ratio; 116 majors and 65 minors; strong programs in business, nursing and the biomedical sciences; member of the NCAA Division I Big East Conference Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) The Grohmann Museum at MSOE, the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Jeramey Jannene / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin Enrollment: 2,846 (2,642 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private engineering school Distinctions: one of the country's top undergraduate engineering colleges; 16 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 21; home to the Grohmann Museum Northland College McLean Environmental Living and Learning Center at Northland College. Photo Courtesy of Northland College Location: Ashland, WisconsinEnrollment: 582 (all undergraduate)Type of Institution: environmental liberal arts college affiliated with the United Church of ChristDistinctions: interdisciplinary core curriculum explores the relationships between the liberal arts, the environment, and our planet's future; all students earn an environmental studies minor; small classes; member of the Eco League with four other colleges Ripon College TravisNygard / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 Location: Ripon, WisconsinEnrollment: 793 (all undergraduate)Type of Institution: private liberal arts educationDistinctions: excellent value with good grant aid; high graduation rate compared to similar schools; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; 12 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 20 St. Norbert College The Campus Center at St. Norbert College. Royalbroil / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 Location: De Pere, WisconsinEnrollment: 2,211 (2,102 undergraduates)Type of Institution: private Catholic liberal arts collegeDistinctions: 13 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 22; focus on the development of the whole person -- intellectual, personal and spiritual; over 60 student clubs and organizations; Honors Program with a living-learning community University of Wisconsin - La Crosse Jo2222 / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain Location: La Crosse, WisconsinEnrollment: 10,637 (9,751 undergraduates)Type of Institution: public universityDistinctions: average class size of 26; students come from 37 states and 44 countries; 88 degree programs for undergraduates; located in the scenic 7 Rivers Region on the Upper Mississippi University of Wisconsin - Madison Richard Hurd / Flickr / CC BY 2.0 Location: Madison, Wisconsin Enrollment: 42,582 (30,958 undergraduates) Type of Institution: public university Distinctions: flagship campus of the Wisconsin university system; 900-acre waterfront campus; member of the Association of American Universities for strong research programs; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; one of the top ten public universities in the country; member of the NCAA Division I Big Ten Conference Wisconsin Lutheran College txnetstars / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0 Location: Milwaukee, WisconsinEnrollment: 1,114 (1,000 undergraduates)Type of Institution: private Christian liberal arts collegeDistinctions: 12 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 16; 34 majors and 22 minors; 30 student clubs and organizations; good graduation rate compared to similar colleges; most students receive grant aid Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Grove, Allen. "Top Wisconsin Colleges." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/top-wisconsin-colleges-788336. Grove, Allen. (2023, April 5). Top Wisconsin Colleges. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/top-wisconsin-colleges-788336 Grove, Allen. "Top Wisconsin Colleges." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/top-wisconsin-colleges-788336 (accessed April 19, 2024). copy citation