2022 Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Occupational Therapy is the 84th most popular major in the country with 9,219 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 219 occupational therapy/therapist graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in occupational therapy/therapist. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent occupational therapy/therapist 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 occupational therapy/therapist 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois occupational therapy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Occupational Therapy (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$10,648 Average Net Price

$48,171 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. UIC is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 64 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois occupational therapy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for Illinois Occupational Therapy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 Occupational Therapy Report

#2

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

#5 in overall quality

$10,872 Average Net Price

$44,835 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Governors State University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. GSU is located in University Park, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 ’s occupational therapy degrees to qualified students.

GSU also took the #5 spot in our “Best Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Governors State University is $10,872 for illinois occupational therapy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Occupational Therapy at GSU

#3

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois

#6 in overall quality

$11,507 Average Net Price

$44,509 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Chicago State University landed the #3 spot on the list. CSU is a small public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 28 ’s occupational therapy degrees in 2019-2020.

CSU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSU is $11,507 for Illinois Occupational Therapy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Occupational Therapy at Chicago State University

#4

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$16,903 Average Net Price

$42,961 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Elmhurst University landed the #4 spot on the list. Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 21 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois occupational therapy students whose families make $0-$30k list, Elmhurst has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Occupational Therapy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst is $16,903 for Illinois Occupational Therapy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Elmhurst Occupational Therapy Report

• Best Value Colleges for Occupational Therapy (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Occupational Therapy (Income $0-$30k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Barbara E. Carver.

Featured Schools

Request Info

Southern New Hampshire University You have goals. Southern New Hampshire University can help you get there. Whether you need a bachelor's degree to get into a career or want a master's degree to move up in your current career, SNHU has an online program for you. Find your degree from over 200 online programs ... Learn More >