2022 Best Value Colleges for General Architecture in Illinois (With Aid)

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 Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 5,051 people earned their degree in general architecture, making the major the 111th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, general architecture graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $46,998 and had an average of $41,356 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 197 general architecture graduates with average earnings and debt of $45,625 and $42,290 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general architecture. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general architecture programs that also have a lower cost than 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 general architecture program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Architecture Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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 Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for General Architecture in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

University of Illinois at Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$13,312 Average Net Price

$48,171 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 80 diplomas to qualified ’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for illinois architecture students with aid.

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 General Architecture Report

#2

Southern Illinois University Carbondale

Carbondale, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$16,945 Average Net Price

$38,710 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #2 spot on the list. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 70 ’s architecture degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for Illinois Architecture students with aid.

Read more about General Architecture at SIUC

#3

Judson University

Elgin, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$18,737 Average Net Price

$40,350 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Judson University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Elgin, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 37 diplomas to qualified ’s architecture students in 2019-2020.

Judson also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Judson is $18,737 for Illinois Architecture students with aid.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Judson University General Architecture Report

#4

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$22,831 Average Net Price

$62,621 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Architecture Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 10 ’s architecture degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois architecture students with aid list, Illinois Tech has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Architecture Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $22,831 for Illinois Architecture students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%.

Read full report on General Architecture at Illinois Tech

• Best Value Colleges for General Architecture in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for General Architecture (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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Danichou.

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