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2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

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

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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” 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” ranking looked at 10 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.

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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The education school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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

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

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

#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 list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students list, UIUC has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UIUC 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Greenville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s education degrees to 4 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 education students.

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.

Read full report on General Education at Greenville

#3

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend McKendree University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. McKendree is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Lebanon, Illinois. It awarded 10 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at McKendree, the school also landed the #6 spot 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 education students.

Read more about General Education at McKendree University

#4

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Concordia University, Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Concordia University, Chicago is located in River Forest, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s education degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students list, Concordia University, Chicago has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Concordia University, Chicago is $16,512 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students.

Read full report on General Education at Concordia University, Chicago

#5

Illinois College

Jacksonville, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois College landed the #5 spot on the list. 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 also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois College is $16,562 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students.

Full Illinois College General Education Report

#6

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Trinity Christian College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Trinity Christian is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Palos Heights, Illinois. It awarded 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. The yearly cost to attend Trinity Christian College is $21,904 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students.

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 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 full report on 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 Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Elmhurst, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s education students 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 per year to attend Elmhurst.

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%.

Full Elmhurst University General Education Report

#8

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Roosevelt University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students 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. The estimated yearly cost for Roosevelt University is $22,749 for illinois bachelor’s degree education students.

Read more about General Education at Roosevelt

#9

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 ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Lake Forest, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree education students list, Lake Forest has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Education students per year to attend Lake Forest College.

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%.

Full Lake Forest College General Education Report

#10

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Illinois Wesleyan University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Bloomington, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified bachelors’s education students in 2019-2020.

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

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

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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