2022 Best Value Colleges for Computer Programming (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Computer Programming is the 121st most popular major in the country with 10,756 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, computer programming graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $45,886 and had an average of $26,222 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 554 computer programming graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,033 and $42,290 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in computer programming. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent computer programming 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 computer programming program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

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

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois programming students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Computer Programming (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$2,712 Average Net Price

$61,293 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 49 ’s programming degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Computer Programming Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $2,712 for illinois programming 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. 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%.

Read more about Computer Programming at University of Chicago

#2

Southwestern Illinois College

Belleville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$5,506 Average Net Price

$30,218 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southwestern Illinois College landed the #2 spot on the list. This medium-sized school is located in Belleville, Illinois, and it awarded 28 ’s programming degrees in 2019-2020.

SWIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Computer Programming Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SWIC is $5,506 for Illinois Programming students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full SWIC Computer Programming Report

#3

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$26,173 Average Net Price

$46,448 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Programming Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 257 ’s programming degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also took the #2 spot in our “Best Computer Programming Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $26,173 for illinois programming students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Computer Programming at DePaul University

• Best Value Colleges for Computer Programming (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Computer Programming (Income $0-$30k)

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 luis gomes.

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