2022 Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology is the 103rd most popular major in the country with 7,312 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,807 and had an average of $31,265 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 94 ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent ecology, evolution and systematics biology programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the ecology, evolution and systematics biology program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois ecology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$7,934 Average Net Price

$61,293 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 15 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $7,934 for Illinois Ecology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of Chicago

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$13,351 Average Net Price

$49,122 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ecology degrees to 6 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $13,351 for Illinois Ecology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#3

Governors State University

University Park, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$11,872 Average Net Price

$44,835 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Governors State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in University Park, Illinois, this small public school awarded 3 degrees to qualified ’s ecology students in 2019-2020.

GSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $11,872 for illinois ecology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend GSU.

Read full report on Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at Governors State University

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$17,841 Average Net Price

$46,385 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Ecology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Olivet Nazarene is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s ecology degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #4 spot in our “Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $17,841 for Illinois Ecology students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology at Olivet Nazarene

• Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $48-$75k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology (Income $48-$75k)

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 Ernst Haeckel.

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