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2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$12,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,288 and $21,821 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 861 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality 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 mechanical 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 Mechanical Engineering Schools

The me 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. 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 ME 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 me students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME 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. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 179 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $8,464 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 82 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $9,938 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full SIUE Mechanical Engineering Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 173 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $11,185 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Mechanical Engineering at UIC

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 123 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $30-$48k list, NIU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northern Illinois University is $15,861 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full NIU Mechanical Engineering Report

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 56 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $14,306 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend SIUC.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school awarded 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ME students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $14,526 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at WIU

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Bradley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Peoria, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 73 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley University is $18,232 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. 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 Mechanical Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #9. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 91 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Mechanical 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 ME students whose families make $30-$48k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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%.

Read more about 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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