2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering Physics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 941 people earned their degree in engineering physics, making the major the 239th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, engineering physics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $59,675 and had an average of $20,001 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 97 engineering physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $73,900 and $21,817 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 94 engineering physics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in engineering physics. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality engineering physics programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the engineering physics 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 Engineering Physics Schools

The engineering physics 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 Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k”.

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

Best Value Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering Physics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$5,477 Average Net Price

$59,417 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 77 bachelors’s engineering physics degrees to qualified students.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Engineering Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $5,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Engineering Physics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$10,648 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k 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 3 bachelors’s engineering physics degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering physics students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Engineering Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering Physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 University of Illinois at Chicago Engineering Physics Report

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$17,222 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Physics Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s engineering physics degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Engineering Physics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $17,222 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering physics students whose families make $0-$30k.

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. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Engineering Physics at Illinois Tech

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering Physics (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering Physics (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 NASA.

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