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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
79 Degrees Awarded
$20,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 79 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” 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. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois

#1 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 13 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign General Education Report

#2

Greenville University

Greenville, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Greenville University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Located in Greenville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s general education students in 2019-2020.

Greenville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Greenville University is $20,689 for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students.

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.

Read more about General Education at Greenville University

#3

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, McKendree University landed the #3 spot on the list. This small school is located in Lebanon, Illinois, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree general education students list, McKendree has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for McKendree is $19,844 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Education students.

Read full report on General Education at McKendree

#4

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Concordia University, Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Concordia University, Chicago is a medium-sized school located in River Forest, Illinois that handed out 7 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago also took the #8 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $16,512 for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students.

Read full report on General Education at Concordia University, Chicago

#5

Illinois College

Jacksonville, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois College. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Jacksonville, Illinois. It awarded 2 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois College not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois College is $16,562 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Education students.

Read full report on General Education at Illinois College

#6

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Trinity Christian College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Trinity Christian College is located in Palos Heights, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 3 bachelors’s general education degrees to qualified students.

Trinity Christian also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Trinity Christian is $21,904 for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students.

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. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 5.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Education at Trinity Christian College

#7

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Elmhurst University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Elmhurst, Illinois. It awarded 1 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Elmhurst is $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Education students.

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 more about General Education at Elmhurst University

#8

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

Roosevelt University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Roosevelt is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $22,749 for illinois bachelor’s degree general education students per year to attend Roosevelt.

Full Roosevelt University General Education Report

#9

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Lake Forest College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #9. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s general education degrees in 2019-2020.

Lake Forest also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend Lake Forest College is $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Education students.

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%.

Read more about General Education at Lake Forest College

#10

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Illinois Wesleyan University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Illinois Wesleyan University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bloomington, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Wesleyan also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Wesleyan is $26,039 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Education students.

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 low student loan default rate of 1.4% 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 more about General Education at Illinois Wesleyan

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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 KOKUYO.

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