2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies
4
Ranked Colleges
148
Degrees Awarded
$35,900
Avg Cost*
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 148 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,250 and $19,500 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the area studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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 “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies” list, to help you choose the best school for you.
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.
Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois vets studying area studies.
Top 4 Best Area Studies Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
Out of the 4 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 32 diplomas to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 52,679 students enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 45 students in 2020-2021.
UChicago also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 241 of the 17,834 students enrolled at UChicago were GI Bill® students, of which 113 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $18,948. In addition to receiving other benefits, 58 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 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 100%. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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Out of the 4 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 17 ’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
UIC also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 33,518 students enrolled at UIC, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $23,878. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UIC offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full UIC Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 4 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Area Studies that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 11 degrees to qualified ’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 528 of the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul University were GI Bill® students, of which 367 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,957. On top of their other funding sources, 101 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% 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%.
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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).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- 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
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- 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.
Credits