2022 Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 7,312 people earned their degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology, making the major the 103rd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,807 and had an average of $31,265 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 94 ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality ecology, evolution and systematics biology programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the ecology, evolution and systematics biology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools

The ecology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois ecology students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$15,880 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 ’s ecology degrees to qualified students.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Ecology students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Report

#2

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$12,077 Average Net Price

$44,835 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Governors State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. GSU is a small school located in University Park, Illinois that handed out 3 ’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

GSU also took the #3 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $12,077 for illinois ecology students with aid per year to attend GSU.

Full Governors State University Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Report

#3

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$20,195 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Olivet Nazarene University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #4 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,195 for Illinois Ecology students with aid per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.

Read more about Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at Olivet Nazarene University

#4

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$27,315 Average Net Price

$61,293 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 15 ’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $27,315 for illinois ecology students with aid.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 0.6% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of Chicago

• Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (With Aid)

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 Ernst Haeckel.

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