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2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$32,700 Avg Salary
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 155 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,700 and $21,833 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 98 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in geological and earth sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geological and earth sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

The geology 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $6,452 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $7,934 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Full University of Chicago Geological & Earth Sciences Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 15 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIUC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $13,351 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UIUC Geological & Earth Sciences Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #5 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,683 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Illinois at Chicago.

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%.

Full UIC Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,346 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend NIU.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at NIU

#7 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, SIUC has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,985 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at SIUC

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 12 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $19,080 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #8 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $15,912 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Illinois 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 Kelvinsong.

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