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

9 Ranked Colleges
1,232 Degrees Awarded
$11,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value ME 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. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Mechanical Engineering is the 20th most popular major in the country with 47,598 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,495 and had an average of $23,104 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,232 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $62,288 and $21,821 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent 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 mechanical 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.

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 ME Schools 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 128 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k.

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-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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 University Mechanical 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 ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 300 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,477 for Illinois ME students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIUC.

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%. 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 Mechanical Engineering Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME 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. SIUE is a public institution located in Edwardsville, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 86 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $8,055 for illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 247 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $10,648 for illinois me 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 more about Mechanical 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 ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 141 students in 2019-2020.

NIU also took the #6 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $15,281 for Illinois ME students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at NIU

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 63 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

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

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Peoria, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 84 diplomas to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k list, Bradley has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Bradley University is $17,205 for illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full Bradley University Mechanical Engineering Report

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 14 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WIU, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,942 for illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend WIU.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at WIU

With a ranking of #9, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 166 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $17,222 for illinois me students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois Tech.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its 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.

Read more about 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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