2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 11,925 people earned their degree in general engineering, making the major the 78th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $66,152 and had an average of $20,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 444 general engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,650 and $24,821 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 $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered 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.

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 $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$16,784 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 $75-$110k list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $16,784 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

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

#2

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$21,306 Average Net Price

$61,020 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet Nazarene University landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois, and it awarded 79 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also made our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $21,306 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k 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 full report on General Engineering at Olivet Nazarene

#3

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$20,181 Average Net Price

$58,221 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,181 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Full Western Illinois University General Engineering Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Engineering (Income $75-$110k)

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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