2023 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
7
Ranked Colleges
608
Degrees Awarded
$29,400
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
Natural Resources & Conservation is the 25th most popular major in the country with 30,503 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,158 and had an average of $23,267 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 608 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,825 and $21,268 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in natural resources and conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources and conservation programs, but they also offer a lot of support to 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 natural resources and conservation program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Natural Resources & Conservation Schools
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 “Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation”.
In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation
The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois vets studying natural resources & conservation.
Top 7 Best Natural Resources & Conservation Colleges for Veterans in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 87 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
UIUC also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].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 tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign offers credit for military training for eligible students.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 57 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.
SIUC also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 11,366 students enrolled at SIUC, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 107 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Loyola Chicago also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Our most recent data shows that 261 of the 16,893 students enrolled at Loyola Chicago were GI Bill® students, of which 165 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $17,263. During this same period, 78 students qualified for 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Loyola Chicago]](/colleges/loyola-university-chicago/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation list. DePaul is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 29 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying natural resources & conservation list, DePaul has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 528 of the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul 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. To help with additional expenses, 101 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at DePaul University]](/colleges/depaul-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school awarded 27 degrees to qualified ’s natural resources and conservation students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our illinois vets studying natural resources & conservation list, UIS has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 4,146 students enrolled at University of Illinois at Springfield, 214 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 106 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,253. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Illinois at Springfield]](/colleges/university-of-illinois-at-springfield/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #6, Augustana College did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation 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 20 students in 2020-2021.
Augustana 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 28 of the 2,389 students enrolled at Augustana College were GI Bill® students, of which 14 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,990. During this same period, 4 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Augustana College]](/colleges/augustana-college-illinois/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #7, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Illinois for Natural Resources & Conservation list. Northern Illinois University is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 31 ’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2020-2021.
NIU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 16,769 students enrolled at NIU, 480 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 207 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,822. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
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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
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Lynn Betts.