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2022 Best Value Colleges for Computer Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

7 Ranked Colleges
615 Degrees Awarded
$10,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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 CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Computer Engineering is the 60th most popular major in the country with 16,932 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, computer engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $68,762 and had an average of $25,829 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 615 computer engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $66,683 and $30,157 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in computer engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality computer engineering 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 computer engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Computer Engineering Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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 CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Computer Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 54 ’s CE degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $1,866 for Illinois CE students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Northwestern University Computer Engineering Report

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 341 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for Illinois CE students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Read full report on Computer Engineering at UIUC

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #3 spot on the list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s CE degrees to 16 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois ce students whose families make $0-$30k list, SIUE has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,055 for illinois ce students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Read more about Computer Engineering at SIUE

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 53 ’s CE degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $10,648 for Illinois CE students whose families make $0-$30k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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 full report on Computer Engineering at UIC

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s CE degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #7 spot in our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $13,658 for Illinois CE students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Computer Engineering Report

#6

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified ’s CE students in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $17,205 for Illinois CE students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bradley University.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full Bradley Computer Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value CE Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 46 ’s CE degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Computer Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $17,222 for illinois ce 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. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Computer Engineering at Illinois Tech

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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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