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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Electrical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

8 Ranked Colleges
554 Degrees Awarded
$12,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 30,670 people earned their degree in electrical engineering, making the major the 31st most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, electrical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $70,098 and had an average of $23,581 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,079 electrical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,500 and $22,666 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 554 electrical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in electrical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality electrical engineering 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 electrical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Electrical Engineering Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Electrical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $3,995 for illinois bachelor’s degree ee students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at Northwestern University

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 #2 for the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 221 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree EE students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIUC.

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

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 38 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE also took the #7 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $9,938 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree EE students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Electrical Engineering at SIUE

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 105 bachelors’s EE degrees to qualified students.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $11,185 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree EE students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Electrical Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. NIU is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 90 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The yearly cost to attend Northern Illinois University is $15,861 for illinois bachelor’s degree ee students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full NIU Electrical Engineering Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public institution located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 32 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #8 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $14,306 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree EE students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full SIUC Electrical Engineering Report

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Bradley University is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 21 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley is $18,232 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree EE students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Bradley Electrical Engineering Report

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Value EE Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k ranking, coming in at #8. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 37 bachelors’s EE degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Electrical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $18,720 for illinois bachelor’s degree ee students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.9% 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 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. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Electrical 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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to NASA.

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