2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2019-2020, 14,528 people earned their degree in journalism, making the major the 62nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, journalism graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,042 and had an average of $24,628 in loans still to pay off.
Across Illinois, there were 627 journalism graduates with average earnings and debt of $31,000 and $27,965 respectively.
For this year’s “Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 16 colleges that offer a degree in journalism. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great journalism programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the journalism program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
The journalism 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 Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k”.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 16 Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism 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 is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 271 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $1,866 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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 low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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%.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 66 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $5,477 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northern Illinois University landed the #3 spot on the list. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 28 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend NIU is $15,281 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois State University is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 33 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $14,470 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIS is a public institution located in Springfield, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 4 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIS, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $9,771 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Springfield.
Augustana College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Rock Island, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.
Augustana also took the #3 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,355 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Augustana College.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #7, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. SIUC is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 30 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, SIUC has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,658 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Read full report on Journalism at Southern Illinois University Carbondale
With a ranking of #8, Eastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. EIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Charleston, Illinois. It awarded 13 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, EIU has also earned the #15 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $12,350 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend EIU.
With a ranking of #9, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. WIU is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 3 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #14 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $13,942 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
Bradley University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s journalism degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $17,205 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Dominican University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Dominican U is a private not-for-profit institution located in River Forest, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Dominican U also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The yearly cost to attend Dominican University is $17,060 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
North Central College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Naperville, Illinois, and it awarded 9 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
North Central also made our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. It costs about $18,889 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend North Central.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Concordia University, Chicago landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Concordia University, Chicago is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 ’s journalism degrees to qualified students.
Concordia University, Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #16 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $14,097 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Concordia University, Chicago.
Read full report on Journalism at Concordia University, Chicago
With a ranking of #14, Columbia College Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 34 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k list, Columbia has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Columbia is $27,120 for Illinois Journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
DePaul University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 62 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $26,173 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Loyola University Chicago ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Journalism Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 29 ’s journalism degrees in 2019-2020.
Loyola Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Journalism Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $29,440 for illinois journalism students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Loyola University Chicago.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.
- Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
- Best Value Colleges for Journalism (Income $0-$30k)
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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.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to Jfurrer.
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