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

9 Ranked Colleges
1,232 Degrees Awarded
$21,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

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

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

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 128 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $16,784 for illinois me students whose families make $75-$110k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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. 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 more about Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

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 in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 300 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $21,998 for Illinois ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

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.

Full UIUC Mechanical Engineering Report

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 141 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $21,425 for illinois me students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois University

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 247 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,270 for Illinois ME students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UIC.

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%.

Full University of Illinois at Chicago Mechanical Engineering Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #5 spot on the list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 86 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,928 for illinois me students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 63 diplomas to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,698 for Illinois ME students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend SIUC.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at SIUC

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois me students whose families make $75-$110k list, WIU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WIU is $20,181 for Illinois ME students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Western Illinois University Mechanical Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 166 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $24,888 for illinois 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. 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.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Report

#9

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

With a ranking of #9, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Bradley University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 84 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

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

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

Full Bradley University Mechanical Engineering Report

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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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