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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois (With Aid)

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

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 35th most popular in the United States. 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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 10 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 10 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education in Illinois (With Aid)

#1 in overall quality

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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 13 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.

Read full report on General Education at UIUC

#2

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Concordia University, Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Located in River Forest, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 7 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

Concordia University, Chicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Concordia University, Chicago is $16,512 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

Full Concordia University, Chicago General Education Report

#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 Getting Aid. Illinois College is located in Jacksonville, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

Illinois College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois College is $16,562 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

Read more about General Education at Illinois College

#4

Greenville University

Greenville, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Greenville University landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Greenville, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid 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 is $20,689 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

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.

Read full report on General Education at Greenville

#5

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Elmhurst University landed the #5 spot on the list. Elmhurst is a small school located in Elmhurst, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,485 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid per year to attend Elmhurst University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 full report on General Education at Elmhurst

#6

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

McKendree University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. McKendree is located in Lebanon, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid list, McKendree has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,844 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid per year to attend McKendree.

Read more about General Education at McKendree

#7

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Lake Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

Lake Forest also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest is $26,426 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

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 College

#8

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Trinity Christian College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Trinity Christian College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Palos Heights, Illinois. It awarded 3 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Trinity Christian, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,904 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid per year to attend Trinity Christian College.

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%. 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 full report on General Education at Trinity Christian College

#9

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

Roosevelt University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Roosevelt University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 9 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

Roosevelt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Roosevelt University is $22,749 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students with aid.

Read full report on General Education at Roosevelt University

#10

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #10. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Wesleyan, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Wesleyan is $26,039 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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%.

Full Illinois Wesleyan University General Education Report

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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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