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2022 Best Value Colleges for General Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)

16 Ranked Colleges
614 Degrees Awarded
$21,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Journalism is the 58th most popular major in the country with 12,336 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

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 Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 16 colleges that offered a degree 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Journalism Schools

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 Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 16 Best Value Colleges for General Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)

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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 64 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Journalism at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. Springfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 4 students in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Springfield is $12,477 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

Read full report on General Journalism at University of Illinois at Springfield

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 271 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $24,664 for Illinois Journalism students with aid per year to attend Northwestern University.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Journalism at Northwestern

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 28 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #10 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend NIU is $18,259 for illinois journalism students with aid.

Read more about General Journalism at NIU

#5

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Eastern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Charleston, Illinois, and it awarded 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, EIU has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,607 for illinois journalism students with aid per year to attend EIU.

Full EIU General Journalism Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 30 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois journalism students with aid.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale General Journalism Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 33 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also made our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,895 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 Illinois State General Journalism Report

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 3 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #14 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,210 for Illinois Journalism students with aid per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Read full report on General Journalism at Western Illinois University

#9

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois

Dominican University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. This small school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 1 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Dominican U also took the #8 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,268 for illinois journalism students with aid per year to attend Dominican U.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on General Journalism at Dominican University

#10

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois

Augustana College landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 22 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $23,874 for illinois journalism students with aid per year to attend Augustana College.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Journalism at Augustana

#11

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

North Central College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Naperville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, North Central has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend North Central College is $24,786 for illinois journalism students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Journalism at North Central College

#12

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois

With a ranking of #12, Concordia University, Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago also made our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #16. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $16,512 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

Full Concordia University, Chicago General Journalism Report

#13

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. 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 estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $25,634 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 General Journalism at Bradley University

#14

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #14, Columbia College Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 27 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia is $31,099 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.

Full Columbia General Journalism Report

#15

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #15, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 62 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, DePaul has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $30,090 for illinois journalism students with aid.

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%.

Read more about General Journalism at DePaul

#16

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #16, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Loyola Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 29 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $35,407 for Illinois Journalism students with aid per year to attend Loyola University Chicago.

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%.

Full Loyola University Chicago General Journalism Report

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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