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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Mechanical Engineering in Illinois (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$18,700 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. 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 General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

General Mechanical Engineering is the 12th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 general mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 861 general mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in general mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general mechanical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Mechanical Engineering in Illinois (With Aid)

#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 179 degrees to qualified bachelors’s general mechanical engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at UIUC

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 173 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $13,312 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid.

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%.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at UIC

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. NIU is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 123 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students with aid per year to attend NIU.

Full Northern Illinois University General Mechanical Engineering Report

#8 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 82 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s general mechanical engineering students in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUE is $14,423 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students with aid.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 56 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to qualified students.

SIUC also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at SIUC

#6

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Northwestern University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 67 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $24,664 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students with aid.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%. 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.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Western Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Western Illinois University is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WIU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WIU is $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students with aid.

Full WIU General Mechanical Engineering Report

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Bradley University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 73 degrees to qualified bachelors’s general mechanical engineering students in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $25,634 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at Bradley

#4 in overall quality

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to 91 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $22,831 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Tech

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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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