2022 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering Mechanics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

General Engineering Mechanics is the 707th most popular major in the country with 257 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 36 general engineering mechanics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering mechanics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general engineering mechanics programs that also have a lower cost than 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 general engineering mechanics program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Engineering Mechanics Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for General Engineering Mechanics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$1,866 Average Net Price

$68,272 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 2 schools in the Best Value General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s general engineering mechanics degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $1,866 for illinois general engineering mechanics students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, 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 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Engineering Mechanics at Northwestern

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$5,477 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

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 General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 34 ’s general engineering mechanics degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Mechanics Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $5,477 for illinois general engineering mechanics 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Engineering Mechanics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Best Value Colleges for General Engineering Mechanics (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for General Engineering Mechanics (Income $0-$30k)

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 Siemens Pressebild.

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