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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$20,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 8,918 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 84th most popular in the United States. 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 $75-$110k” ranking looked at 8 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geological and earth sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geological and earth sciences programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,784 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Northwestern University.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s geology degrees 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. It costs about $17,929 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend University of Chicago.

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%.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UChicago

#3

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k 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 also took the #6 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $21,425 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at NIU

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $20,270 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

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 UIC Geological & Earth Sciences Report

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #5 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 15 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,998 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UIUC.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 4 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $20,698 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at SIUC

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k list, WIU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for WIU is $20,181 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full Western Illinois University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#8

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #8. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $25,379 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Illinois State.

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

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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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