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2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

16 Ranked Colleges
614 Degrees Awarded
$16,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools 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. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 12,336 people earned their degree in general journalism, making the major the 58th most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 614 general journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 16 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general journalism program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

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

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

Top 16 Best Value Colleges for General Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 271 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on General Journalism at Northwestern

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 64 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,477 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Journalism at UIUC

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 28 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #10. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $15,281 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Northern Illinois University General Journalism Report

#4

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Illinois State is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 33 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State is $14,470 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois State General Journalism Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 4 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIS has also earned the #13 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $9,771 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Springfield.

Full University of Illinois at Springfield General Journalism Report

#6

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois

Augustana College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Augustana is a private not-for-profit institution located in Rock Island, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 22 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Augustana did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana College is $20,355 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 General Journalism at Augustana

With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $13,658 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#8

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. EIU is a public institution located in Charleston, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 13 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

EIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for EIU is $12,350 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full EIU General Journalism Report

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #9, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #14. The estimated yearly cost for WIU is $13,942 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Journalism at WIU

#10

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 9 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley is $17,205 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read full report on General Journalism at Bradley University

#11

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois

Dominican University landed the #11 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 1 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Dominican U did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $17,060 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Dominican U.

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.

Read full report on General Journalism at Dominican U

#12

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

North Central College ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. North Central College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Naperville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

North Central not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,889 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend North Central.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Journalism at North Central College

#13

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois

Concordia University, Chicago landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Concordia University, Chicago, the school also landed the #16 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,097 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Concordia University, Chicago.

Read full report on General Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago

#14

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Columbia College Chicago ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Columbia College Chicago is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 27 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Columbia has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $27,120 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Columbia.

Read full report on General Journalism at Columbia College Chicago

#15

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University landed the #15 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 62 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also made our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $26,173 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend DePaul University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul General Journalism Report

#16

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #16. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Chicago is $29,440 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 Journalism at Loyola University 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

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.

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