2022 Best Value Colleges for Journalism in Illinois (With Aid)
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 627 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,000 and $27,965 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 16 colleges that offered a degree in journalism. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent journalism programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the journalism program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The journalism 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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.
Top 16 Best Value Colleges for 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. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 66 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UIS is located in Springfield, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #13 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $12,477 for Illinois Journalism students with aid per year to attend University of Illinois at Springfield.
Read more about Journalism at University of Illinois at Springfield
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 271 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $24,664 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
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. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 28 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northern Illinois University is $18,259 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. EIU is a medium-sized school located in Charleston, Illinois that handed out 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
EIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Eastern Illinois University is $14,607 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 30 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, SIUC has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois journalism students with aid.
Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Journalism Report
With a ranking of #7, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 33 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Illinois State also made our “Best 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 student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Western Illinois University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 3 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
WIU also took the #14 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WIU is $16,210 for illinois journalism students with aid.
Read full report on Journalism at Western Illinois University
With a ranking of #9, Dominican University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in River Forest, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Dominican U, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,268 for illinois journalism students with aid per year to attend Dominican U.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
With a ranking of #10, Augustana College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Augustana is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Rock Island, Illinois. It awarded 22 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Augustana did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Augustana is $23,874 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
North Central College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #11. Naperville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
North Central also took the #4 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for North Central is $24,786 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
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%.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. This medium-sized school is located in River Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 2 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Concordia University, Chicago also took the #16 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $16,512 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
Read full report on Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago
Bradley University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Bradley University is located in Peoria, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
Bradley also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $25,634 for illinois journalism students with aid per year to attend Bradley University.
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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Columbia College Chicago landed the #14 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 34 diplomas to qualified ’s journalism students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois journalism students with aid list, Columbia has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $31,099 for Illinois Journalism students with aid per year to attend Columbia.
DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #15. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 62 students in 2019-2020.
DePaul also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. It costs about $30,090 for Illinois Journalism students with aid 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%.
Loyola University Chicago landed the #16 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. 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 with aid list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola Chicago is $35,407 for Illinois Journalism students with aid.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
- Best Value Colleges for Journalism in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
- Best Value Colleges for Journalism (With Aid)
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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.
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- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.
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