2022 Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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 $75-$110k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in manufacturing engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great manufacturing engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the manufacturing engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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 $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$16,784 Average Net Price

$68,272 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 26 ’s manufacturing engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $16,784 for Illinois Manufacturing Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k.

The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Northwestern University Manufacturing Engineering Report

#2

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$28,169 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Bradley University landed the #2 spot on the list. Bradley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Peoria, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 19 ’s 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 $28,169 for Illinois Manufacturing Engineering students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Bradley.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Bradley University Manufacturing Engineering Report

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$24,888 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 6 ’s manufacturing engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Manufacturing Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $24,888 for illinois manufacturing engineering students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Illinois Institute of Technology.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Manufacturing Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

• Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Manufacturing 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.

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