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2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

10 Ranked Colleges
631 Degrees Awarded
$14,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 17,506 people earned their degree in film, video and photographic arts, making the major the 64th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, film, video and photographic arts graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $22,714 and had an average of $31,549 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 film, video and photographic arts graduates with average earnings and debt of $23,838 and $41,036 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in film, video and photographic arts. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality film, video and photographic arts programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the film, video and photographic arts program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for Film, Video & Photographic Arts (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 13 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for Illinois Film 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. 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. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Northwestern Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $2,712 for illinois film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UChicago

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 11 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $5,477 for illinois film students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIUC.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UIUC

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 3 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $10,648 for illinois film students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at UIC

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s film degrees to 38 students in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $13,658 for Illinois Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 9 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $17,205 for Illinois Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Bradley University Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#7

Dominican University

River Forest, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Dominican University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. River Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Dominican U also took the #9 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Dominican U is $17,060 for illinois film students whose families make $0-$30k.

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.

Read full report on Film, Video & Photographic Arts at Dominican University

#8

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Columbia College Chicago landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Columbia is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 336 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

Columbia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Columbia College Chicago is $27,120 for Illinois Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Columbia College Chicago Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

#9

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 195 ’s film degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois film students whose families make $0-$30k list, DePaul has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $26,173 for Illinois Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 more about Film, Video & Photographic Arts at DePaul University

#10

American Academy of Art

Chicago, Illinois

American Academy of Art ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Film Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s film degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

The Academy also took the #10 spot in our “Best Film, Video & Photographic Arts Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend The Academy is $23,987 for Illinois Film students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full American Academy of Art Film, Video & Photographic Arts Report

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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.

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