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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income Over $110k) in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
861 Degrees Awarded
$26,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 47,598 people earned their degree in mechanical engineering, making the major the 20th most popular in the United States. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 861 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree 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.

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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. 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.

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Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k.

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Mechanical Engineering (Income Over $110k) in Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 179 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #2 spot in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make more than $110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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%.

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

#2

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 #2 for the Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k. NIU is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 123 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at NIU

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k list. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 173 bachelors’s ME degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k list, UIC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make more than $110k.

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 Mechanical Engineering Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #4 spot on the list. Edwardsville, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 82 students in 2019-2020.

SIUE not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $14,423 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 56 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k.

Full SIUC Mechanical Engineering Report

#6

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#9 in overall quality

Western Illinois University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k ranking. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 14 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k list, WIU has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,210 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k per year to attend WIU.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at WIU

Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2022 Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 91 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $22,831 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k 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%. 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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, Bradley University did quite well on the 2022 Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k list. This medium-sized school is located in Peoria, Illinois, and it awarded 73 bachelors’s ME degrees in 2019-2020.

Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Bradley is $25,634 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree ME students whose families make more than $110k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Bradley University Mechanical Engineering Report

#9

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Northwestern University did quite well in the 2022 Best Vallue ME Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making Over $110k ranking, coming in at #9. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s ME degrees to 67 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k list, Northwestern has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Mechanical Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree me students whose families make more than $110k.

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

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University

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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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