2022 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Other) in Illinois (With Aid)

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 1,253 people earned their degree in communication and journalism (other), making the major the 195th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, communication and journalism (other) graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,210 and had an average of $27,463 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 222 communication and journalism (other) graduates with average earnings and debt of $80,000 and $38,941 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in communication and journalism (other). Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent communication and journalism (other) programs, but they also cost less that 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 communication and journalism (other) program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Other) in Illinois (With Aid)

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$24,664 Average Net Price

$68,272 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 191 degrees to qualified ’s other communications students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Communication & Journalism (Other) Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for illinois other communications students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Full Northwestern University Communication & Journalism (Other) Report

#2

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$16,210 Average Net Price

$37,263 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #2 spot on the list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s other communications degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best Communication & Journalism (Other) Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $16,210 for Illinois Other Communications students with aid.

Read more about Communication & Journalism (Other) at Western Illinois University

#3

Quincy University

Quincy, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$17,497 Average Net Price

$47,950 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Quincy University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Quincy, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s other communications degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Quincy U, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism (Other) Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,497 for Illinois Other Communications students with aid per year to attend Quincy U.

Read more about Communication & Journalism (Other) at Quincy University

#4

Benedictine University

Lisle, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$25,143 Average Net Price

$51,810 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Benedictine University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Other Communications Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Lisle, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s other communications students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Benedictine U, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Communication & Journalism (Other) Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $25,143 for Illinois Other Communications students with aid per year to attend Benedictine University.

Full Benedictine University Communication & Journalism (Other) Report

• Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Other) in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)
• Best Value Colleges for Communication & Journalism (Other) (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 Josh Hallett.

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