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2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois

10 Ranked Colleges
1,183 Degrees Awarded
$27,500 Avg Cost*
Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Mechanical Engineering is the 21st most popular major in the country with 46,178 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, mechanical engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $69,007 and had an average of $23,944 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 1,183 mechanical engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $71,610 and $22,426 respectively.

This year’s “Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in mechanical engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have one of the most popular mechanical engineering programs in the United States.

See our ranking methodology to learn more.

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The me school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois”.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois”.

1

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ME degrees to 300 students in 2020-2021.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 2.3%, 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 Mechanical Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. University of Illinois at Chicago is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 222 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Mechanical Engineering at UIC

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois Institute of Technology. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. Illinois Tech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 157 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 1.9% 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Mechanical Engineering Report

4
Northwestern crest
Northwestern University
Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 142 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The low undergrad student loan default rate of 0.6% 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 Northwestern

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 135 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at NIU

6
Bradley crest
Bradley University
Peoria, Illinois

Bradley University landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois ranking. Bradley is a private not-for-profit institution located in Peoria, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 83 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

7

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois ranking. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 72 ’s ME degrees to qualified students.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

8

Southern Illinois University Carbondale ranked #8 on this year’s Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 61 degrees to qualified ’s ME students in 2020-2021.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

9

Western Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Macomb, Illinois, and it awarded 10 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at Western Illinois University

10
North Park crest
North Park University
Chicago, Illinois

North Park University ranked #10 on this year’s Most Well Attended ME Major in Illinois list. North Park University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 ’s ME degrees in 2020-2021.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read more about Mechanical Engineering at North Park

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References

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