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

5 Ranked Colleges
285 Degrees Awarded
$17,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

With 133,583 degrees handed out in 2019-2020, general studies is the 5th most popular major in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 2,959 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 285 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 5 colleges that offer a degree in general studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general studies 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 general studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Illinois State is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 100 bachelors’s general studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also made our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $14,999 for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois State University General Studies Report

#3 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern Illinois University landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 19 degrees to qualified bachelors’s general studies students in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern Illinois University is $15,513 for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Northeastern Illinois University General Studies Report

#3

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Chicago State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s general studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, CSU has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend CSU is $11,844 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read more about General Studies at Chicago State University

#4

Lincoln College

Lincoln, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Lincoln College. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Lincoln College is located in Lincoln, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 1 bachelors’s general studies degrees to qualified students.

Lincoln College also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lincoln College is $21,395 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Lincoln College General Studies Report

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. DePaul University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 141 bachelors’s general studies degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $25,842 for illinois bachelor’s degree general 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 full report on General 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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