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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
79 Degrees Awarded
$15,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

General Education is the 35th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 423 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $46,475 and $26,209 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general education 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 general education program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank General Education Schools

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

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. 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school awarded 13 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about General Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s 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 is $18,192 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Lake Forest

#3

Illinois College

Jacksonville, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois College. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Illinois College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Jacksonville, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 2 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois College, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois College is $11,376 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Education at Illinois College

#4

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Elmhurst University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Elmhurst, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 1 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students 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 University is $16,903 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree 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

#5

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, McKendree University landed the #5 spot on the list. Lebanon, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 10 students in 2019-2020.

McKendree also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for McKendree University is $15,184 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Education at McKendree University

#6

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Illinois Wesleyan is located in Bloomington, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,570 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois Wesleyan University.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about General Education at Illinois Wesleyan

#7

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Concordia University, Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in River Forest, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Concordia University, Chicago, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $14,097 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Concordia University, Chicago General Education Report

#8

Greenville University

Greenville, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Greenville University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. Greenville University is located in Greenville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k list, Greenville has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Greenville University is $19,681 for illinois bachelor’s degree 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.

Full Greenville University General Education Report

#9

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illinois

Trinity Christian College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #9. Trinity Christian College is a small school located in Palos Heights, Illinois that handed out 3 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Trinity Christian did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,611 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Trinity Christian.

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%.

Full Trinity Christian General Education Report

#10

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. This small school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt also took the #10 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt is $20,398 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about General Education at Roosevelt University

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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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