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2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

9 Ranked Colleges
1,232 Degrees Awarded
Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

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 ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

For this year’s “Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great mechanical engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the mechanical engineering program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Mechanical Engineering Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 128 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $6,452 for Illinois ME students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Mechanical 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 ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 300 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $13,351 for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UIUC

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 247 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,683 for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 more about Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois at Chicago

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 141 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. It costs about $18,346 for Illinois ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend NIU.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at NIU

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This fairly large school is located in Edwardsville, Illinois, and it awarded 86 ’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE also took the #8 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,705 for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Mechanical Engineering Report

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. Carbondale, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 63 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $14,985 for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 14 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. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $15,912 for Illinois ME students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Western Illinois University

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s ME degrees to 84 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $22,865 for Illinois ME students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Bradley.

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 full report on Mechanical Engineering at Bradley

Illinois Institute of Technology came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value ME Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and 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 $22,542 for illinois me students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Illinois Tech.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

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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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