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

5 Ranked Colleges
91 Degrees Awarded
$10,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 139 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,433 and $25,759 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 91 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies 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 area studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” 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. 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies 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 large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 13 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $3,995 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Area Studies at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $2,800 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 UChicago Area Studies Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $8,464 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. 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 Area Studies at UIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school handed out 16 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $11,185 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies 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 Area Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $25,842 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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%.

Read more about Area Studies at DePaul

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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