2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general engineering 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 general engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$6,452 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 5 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $6,452 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Read full report on General Engineering at Northwestern

#2

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$17,841 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet Nazarene University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 79 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $17,841 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%.

Full Olivet Nazarene General Engineering Report

#3

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$15,912 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 10 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $15,912 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on General Engineering at Western Illinois University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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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