2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

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 Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 1,475 people earned their degree in urban studies/affairs, making the major the 341st most popular in the United States.

Across Illinois, there were 46 urban studies/affairs graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 40 urban studies/affairs graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in urban studies/affairs. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent urban studies/affairs programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the urban studies/affairs 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The urban affairs 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 Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies/Affairs (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$11,185 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees to qualified students.

UIC also made our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $11,185 for illinois bachelor’s degree urban affairs students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Urban Studies/Affairs Report

#2

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$16,212 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Wheaton College Illinois. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This small school is located in Wheaton, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s urban affairs degrees in 2019-2020.

Wheaton College Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,212 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Wheaton College Illinois.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, 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 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Urban Studies/Affairs at Wheaton College Illinois

#3

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$17,837 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elmhurst University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Urban Affairs Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Elmhurst, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s urban affairs students in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Urban Studies/Affairs Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst is $17,837 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Urban Affairs students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Elmhurst University Urban Studies/Affairs Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies/Affairs (Income $30-$48k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Urban Studies/Affairs (Income $30-$48k)

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 Andrew Bossi.

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