Lake Forest College

Go Foresters!

It has been a thrilling fall for Forester Athletics. Among other achievements, the Football team had a perfect record and plays their first game in the NCAA tournament on November 30.

aerial view of lillard science center with the lake in the background

Best in the Midwest

The Wall Street Journal just ranked Lake Forest College as the top liberal-arts college in the Midwest, putting a bow on the publication's ranking of the College at #27 nationwide.

Make It at Lake Forest College

Bring us your talents and passions, your curiosity and your drive, and we'll give you the tools you need to build your dream career.

At Lake Forest College, we are dedicated to elevating students from dreamers to doers. Here, students take classes to nurture and discover their passions. Our community embraces career preparation at its finest, with access to top internships in and around the great city of Chicago. In every field of study, we will help students make opportunities to excel.

Get the best of both worlds: an idyllic lakeshore campus near the opportunity and culture of the third-largest city in the US. Lake Forest College is committed to helping students achieve their dream careers through pragmatic experience and guided preparation. With hands-on research, nationally ranked internship access, and dynamic classroom settings that foster supportive relationships between students and professors, this is the liberal arts at its finest.

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#24 BEST

Quality of Life The Princeton Review

#27 Overall

Top 100 Colleges Wall Street Journal

#19 BEST

Career Services The Princeton Review

#13 most

Accessible Professors The Princeton Review

Fine Arts at Lake Forest College

At Lake Forest College, the fine arts are an instrumental part of the cultural richness of campus. We encourage all students to integrate their passions into their studies and explore means of artistic expression. Practicing the fine arts enhances a Forester's connection to the wider world and helps us find our place in it.

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Our Forester Future

At Lake Forest College, we are shaping a vibrant future for our community by prioritizing student success, building career-ready graduates, and strengthening campus resources. We are committed to helping every Forester thrive academically, personally, and professionally, with the full support of faculty, staff, and alumni. Discover how we’re making transformative impacts on campus and beyond by investing in our students, innovation, and the future of Lake Forest College.

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Experience life in the city

Lake Forest College’s ACTIVATE: Summer Internship Program helps you make the most of the moment. Students reside in downtown Chicago at the College’s Chicago residential building, receive cutting-edge career preparation and mentorship, and benefit from an internship in the heart of the city.

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#1 Liberal Arts College in the Midwest - Wall Street Journal

Best in the Midwest

According to the WSJ article: “Schools’ overall scores in the WSJ/College Pulse ranking are based on three factors: Student outcomes—including measures of graduation rates, graduates’ salaries and how those salaries offset the cost of attaining an undergraduate degree at each school—account for 70 percent of the overall score.

Read the whole story here

Sustainability Across Campus

Lake Forest College integrates environmentally sustainable practices on campus and assists others in their quest to effect positive change in the world.

Our sustainability practices

three college students in downtown lake forest

Top 11 must-visit places in Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest, Illinois is a quiet town in Chicago's North Shore suburbs, and it's also home to the Best Liberal Arts College in the Midwest as ranked by the Wall Street Journal in 2024. Whether you're a student, parent, alum, or just visiting, here are all the places in town you should hit up.

Maximize your options with a double major

students talking and laughing together

At Lake Forest College, students can choose up to two majors and a minor or one major and two minors. This diversified approach to education allows students to embrace all their interests and craft a personal education experience that not only tailors them to a specific path, but helps them create one. Want to study music, but also data science? Theater and neuroscience? Marketing and psychology? African American studies and creative writing? When it comes to major combinations, we think beyond limits and into possibilities. Our double majors graduate with a higher understanding of themselves, the world, and their place in it.

Explore Majors and Minors »

students talking near the harlan and blackstone gates

Making sense of financial aid and the value of a college education

There is no getting around the fact that college comes with a price tag. However, it’s important to understand that higher education is first and foremost an investment in your future—you receive the value of the education you invest in.

Make a career after college

We help students think beyond classes and homework and into their future careers. Our degree programs focus on securing jobs or graduate program placements after graduation. Whether students come to us with big ideas about their next steps or passion they need to find a place for, our Career Advancement team is ready to help them achieve great things after college.

The Class of 2023 has a job placement rate of 96%

Through our nationally recognized Career Pathways program, the Gorter Family Career Advancement Center empowers students by providing essential skills, experiences, and networks that will help them pursue meaningful careers. Chicago is home to over 400 major corporate headquarters (including 36 in the Fortune 500), countless museums, theaters, consulates, and more where students can make connections for professional success.