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

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Materials Engineering is the 150th most popular major in the country with 3,485 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, materials engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $63,129 and had an average of $23,918 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 213 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,200 and $19,750 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 106 materials engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 3 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the materials 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The materials engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

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 when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$3,995 Average Net Price

$73,635 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials 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 awarded 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s materials engineering students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $3,995 for illinois bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northwestern University.

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

Full Northwestern Materials Engineering Report

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$8,464 Average Net Price

$68,499 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 87 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for illinois bachelor’s degree materials engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIUC.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Materials Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$18,720 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Materials Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s materials engineering degrees to 5 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Materials Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $18,720 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Materials Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Illinois Tech Materials Engineering Report

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

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