2022 Best Value Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 689 people earned their degree in materials sciences, making the major the 258th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, materials sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $60,225 and had an average of $23,698 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 3 materials sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in materials sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great materials sciences programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the materials sciences program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Materials Sciences Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois materials science students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$1,866 Average Net Price

$68,272 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 2 degrees to qualified ’s materials science students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Materials Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for illinois materials science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Full Northwestern Materials Sciences Report

#2

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$17,222 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Materials Science Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 1 ’s materials science degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Materials Sciences Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $17,222 for illinois materials science students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Materials Sciences at Illinois Institute of Technology

• Best Value Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Materials Sciences (Income $0-$30k)

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 Per Henning.

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