2022 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Illinois (With Aid)

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 36,854 people earned their degree in design and applied arts, making the major the 34th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, design and applied arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,542 and had an average of $27,114 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,178 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,274 and $37,640 respectively. At the associate degree level specifically, there were 168 design and applied arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,469 and $14,548 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in design and applied arts. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great design and applied arts programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the design and applied arts 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 Design & Applied Arts Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois associate degree design students with aid.

Top 2 Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

Elgin Community College

Elgin, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$4,185 Average Net Price

$29,685 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elgin Community College. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. ECC is a medium-sized public school situated in Elgin, Illinois. It awarded 11 associates’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

ECC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Elgin Community College is $4,185 for illinois associate degree design students with aid.

Read more about Design & Applied Arts at ECC

#2

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$22,749 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Roosevelt University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Design Schools for an Associate in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 associates’s design degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois associate degree design students with aid list, Roosevelt has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Design & Applied Arts Associate Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $22,749 for Illinois Associate Degree Design students with aid per year to attend Roosevelt University.

Full Roosevelt Design & Applied Arts Report

• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Associate Degree Colleges for Design & Applied Arts (With Aid)

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.

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