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2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$12,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking.

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.

This year’s “Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general mechanical engineering programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the general mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 $30-$48k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

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

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Mechanical Engineering (Income $30-$48k) 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 $30-$48k list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 67 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $3,995 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northwestern University.

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. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

#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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 179 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to qualified students.

UIUC also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $8,464 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Mechanical Engineering at UIUC

#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 $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #3 spot on the list. SIUE is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 82 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE also made our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. It costs about $9,938 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Read full report on General Mechanical Engineering at SIUE

#5 in overall quality

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 General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 173 bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $11,185 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Full UIC General Mechanical Engineering Report

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 123 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,861 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend NIU.

Full NIU General Mechanical Engineering Report

#7 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s general mechanical engineering degrees to 56 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k list, SIUC has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $14,306 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Western Illinois University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k 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 took the #9 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,526 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend WIU.

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at WIU

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Bradley University 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 $18,232 for illinois bachelor’s degree general mechanical engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Bradley University.

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

Read more about General Mechanical Engineering at Bradley

#4 in overall quality

Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Mechanical Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 91 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,720 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Mechanical Engineering students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Illinois Institute of Technology.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, 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 87%. 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 Mechanical 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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