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2023 Most Popular Colleges for Chemical Engineering in Illinois

5 Ranked Colleges
442 Degrees Awarded
$35,700 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2020-2021, 12,917 people earned their degree in chemical engineering, making the major the 70th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, chemical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $65,870 and had an average of $23,285 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 442 chemical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $67,203 and $21,409 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in chemical engineering. To top this list, a school must have a successful chemical engineering program that graduates more students in the field than other colleges that offer the same major.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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The chem eng 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 “Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois chem eng students.

1

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s chem eng degrees to 181 students in 2020-2021.

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 low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.3% 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 UIUC Chemical Engineering Report

2

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 85 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad 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%.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at UIC

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 for the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois. Illinois Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 73 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Illinois Tech Chemical Engineering Report

4
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois list. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 55 ’s chem eng degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about Chemical Engineering at UChicago

5
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Most Well Attended Chem Eng Major in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 48 diplomas to qualified ’s chem eng students in 2020-2021.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The impressive undergraduate 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 low undergrad 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%.

Read full report on Chemical Engineering at Northwestern

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Notes and References

References

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