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

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$11,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Mechanical Engineering 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. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

General Mechanical Engineering is the 12th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 general mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 861 general mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in general mechanical engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general mechanical engineering programs that also have a lower cost than 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 mechanical engineering program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Mechanical Engineering Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $1,866 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full Northwestern General Mechanical Engineering Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 179 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $5,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#8 in overall quality

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s 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. Located in Edwardsville, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 82 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s general mechanical engineering students in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend SIUE is $8,055 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at SIUE

#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to 173 students in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $10,648 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at UIC

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. NIU is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 123 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to qualified students.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $15,281 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at Northern Illinois University

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 56 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $13,658 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend SIUC.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale General Mechanical Engineering Report

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Bradley University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Bradley is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Peoria, Illinois. It awarded 73 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $17,205 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bradley.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 full report on General Mechanical Engineering at Bradley

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Western Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend WIU is $13,942 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Western Illinois University General Mechanical Engineering Report

#4 in overall quality

Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to 91 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Illinois Tech has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $17,222 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering 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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology General Mechanical Engineering 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.

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