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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

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 $75-$110k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. 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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Northwestern University 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. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $16,784 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

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 ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 179 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s ME 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 Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $21,998 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full UIUC Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 123 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $21,425 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at NIU

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 $75-$110k list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 173 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $20,270 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full UIC Mechanical Engineering Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 82 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

SIUE also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $18,928 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full SIUE Mechanical Engineering Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. SIUC is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 56 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $20,698 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at SIUC

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Western Illinois University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k list, WIU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,181 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at WIU

With a ranking of #8, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 91 students 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. It costs about $24,888 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Illinois Tech.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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. 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%.

Full Illinois Tech Mechanical Engineering Report

#9

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Bradley is located in Peoria, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 73 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Bradley also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Bradley University is $28,169 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Bradley

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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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