2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 9,411 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 83rd most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 444 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 96 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in general engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general engineering 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 program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Engineering 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$3,995 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 5 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering 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 General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $3,995 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k 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 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 at Northwestern

#2

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$14,526 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 10 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, WIU has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,526 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend WIU.

Full WIU General Engineering Report

#3

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$15,390 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Olivet Nazarene University is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 79 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $15,390 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

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%.

Read more about General Engineering at Olivet Nazarene University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $30-$48k)

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 Rémi Kaupp.

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