2022 Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing Engineering (Income $0-$30k) 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 Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Manufacturing Engineering is the 241st most popular major in the country with 966 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, manufacturing engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $62,383 and had an average of $25,760 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 51 manufacturing engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $64,500 and $27,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in manufacturing engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent manufacturing engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the manufacturing engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Manufacturing Engineering Schools

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 Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. 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 Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing Engineering (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 3 schools in the Best Value Manufacturing Engineering 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 26 ’s manufacturing engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois manufacturing engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for illinois manufacturing engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Manufacturing Engineering at Northwestern University

#2

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$17,205 Average Net Price

$45,292 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #2 spot on the list. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 19 ’s manufacturing engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,205 for Illinois Manufacturing Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bradley University.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Bradley University Manufacturing Engineering Report

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$17,222 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 6 ’s manufacturing engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $17,222 for illinois manufacturing engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Manufacturing Engineering at Illinois Tech

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

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