2022 Best Value Colleges for General Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

General Architecture is the 111th most popular major in the country with 5,051 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general architecture graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $46,998 and had an average of $41,356 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 197 general architecture graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,625 and $42,290 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general architecture. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general architecture programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general architecture program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for General Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$10,648 Average Net Price

$48,171 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 80 degrees to qualified ’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for illinois architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Architecture at UIC

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$13,658 Average Net Price

$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 70 degrees to qualified ’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $13,658 for illinois architecture students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about General Architecture at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$17,222 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 10 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also made our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $17,222 for illinois architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois Tech.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Architecture at Illinois Tech

#4

Judson University

Elgin, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$14,154 Average Net Price

$40,350 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Judson University landed the #4 spot on the list. Elgin, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s architecture degrees to 37 students in 2019-2020.

Judson also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,154 for Illinois Architecture students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Judson University.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about General Architecture at Judson University

• Best Value Colleges for General Architecture (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for General Architecture (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Danichou.

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