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2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

7 Ranked Colleges
471 Degrees Awarded
$14,400 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Communications is the 65th most popular major in the country with 11,861 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 517 communications graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 471 communications graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in communications. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality communications 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 communications program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Communications (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 279 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s communication arts students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $5,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Communications Report

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 86 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Communications Report

#3

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Eastern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 41 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

EIU also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $12,350 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Eastern Illinois University.

Read full report on Communications at Eastern Illinois University

#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Illinois at Springfield is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIS has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $9,771 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIS.

Read more about Communications at University of Illinois at Springfield

#5

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bradley University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s communication arts degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $17,205 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Communications at Bradley

#6

Eureka College

Eureka, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Eureka College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Eureka College is located in Eureka, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

Eureka College also took the #7 spot in our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Eureka College is $18,258 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Communication Arts students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Eureka College Communications Report

#7

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Columbia College Chicago came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Communication Arts Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Columbia is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 8 bachelors’s communication arts degrees to qualified students.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Communications Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $27,120 for illinois bachelor’s degree communication arts students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Columbia.

Read full report on Communications at Columbia College Chicago

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

Featured Communications / Public Relations Schools

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