2022 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois
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 General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 28th most popular in the United States.
Across Illinois, there were 423 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.
This year’s “Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 16 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general education programs and 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 general education program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
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More Ways to Rank General Education Schools
When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.
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. 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 General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k
The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.
Top 16 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 197 ’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.
UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $5,477 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Saint Xavier University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s general education students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at SXU, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $11,266 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Saint Xavier University.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 16 ’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k list, NIU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,281 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend NIU.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the #4 spot on the list. Lake Forest College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 11 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.
Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,192 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Lake Forest College.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Out of the 16 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Western Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s general education degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.
WIU also made our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $13,942 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Western Illinois University.
Illinois College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois College is located in Jacksonville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 ’s general education degrees to qualified students.
Illinois College also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $11,376 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois College.
With a ranking of #7, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Elmhurst is located in Elmhurst, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 ’s general education degrees to qualified students.
Elmhurst also took the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst is $16,903 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k.
The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Read full report on General Education at Elmhurst University
Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Bloomington, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 diplomas to qualified ’s general education students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Wesleyan, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Wesleyan University is $18,570 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
McKendree University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Lebanon, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 37 diplomas to qualified ’s general education students in 2019-2020.
In addition to being on our illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k list, McKendree has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend McKendree is $15,184 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k.
Read full report on General Education at McKendree University
Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #10. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 12 ’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.
Concordia University, Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $14,097 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k.
Quincy University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Quincy, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s general education degrees to 20 students in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Quincy U, the school also landed the #13 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Quincy University is $15,292 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k.
Greenville University landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Greenville is a small school located in Greenville, Illinois that handed out 6 ’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Greenville, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,681 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Greenville.
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.
North Park University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified ’s general education students in 2019-2020.
North Park did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #15 on our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend North Park is $17,808 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k.
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.
Trinity Christian College ranked #14 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Palos Heights, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s general education degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.
Trinity Christian also took the #12 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Trinity Christian is $16,611 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The student loan default rate at the school is 5.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Roosevelt University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 9 ’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.
Roosevelt also took the #16 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt is $20,398 for illinois general education students whose families make $0-$30k.
Rockford University came in at #16 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Rockford University is located in Rockford, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 ’s general education degrees to qualified students.
Rockford also made our “Best General Education Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #14. It costs about $21,868 for Illinois General Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Rockford.
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.
- Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
- Best Value Colleges for General Education (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.
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