2022 Best Value Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois
When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2019-2020, 30,341 people earned their degree in natural resources and conservation, making the major the 26th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,196 and had an average of $25,077 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 631 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,920 and $23,093 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 12 colleges that offered a degree in natural resources and conservation. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural resources and conservation programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the natural resources and conservation 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.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The natural resources & conservation 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 Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k”.
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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
Top 12 Best Value Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 61 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.
UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $2,800 for illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UChicago.
The 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. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Chicago
Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 100 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UIS is a small public school situated in Springfield, Illinois. It awarded 32 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.
UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIS is $8,323 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at University of Illinois at Springfield
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 34 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.
NIU also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend Northern Illinois University is $15,861 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Knox College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Galesburg, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 16 degrees to qualified ’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.
Knox not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Knox is $19,186 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Knox College
With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 77 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.
SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $14,306 for illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Augustana College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Rock Island, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to 29 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Augustana, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Augustana is $16,249 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Augustana College
Northeastern Illinois University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. Northeastern Illinois University is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 18 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Northeastern Illinois University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern Illinois University is $15,513 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Northeastern Illinois University
Lake Forest College landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Lake Forest College is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 16 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
In addition to being on our illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k list, Lake Forest has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest College is $19,152 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full Lake Forest College Natural Resources & Conservation Report
Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Bloomington, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,857 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Illinois Wesleyan University.
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 low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 Illinois Wesleyan University Natural Resources & Conservation Report
Loyola University Chicago came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Loyola Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 95 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Loyola University Chicago is $29,788 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Loyola Chicago
DePaul University landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 32 degrees to qualified ’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois natural resources & conservation students whose families make $30-$48k list, DePaul has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $25,842 for Illinois Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $30-$48k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at DePaul University
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.
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