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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

11 Ranked Colleges
3,865 Degrees Awarded
$12,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Engineering is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 6th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 200,458 degrees were awarded to students with this major. In 2017-2018, engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,888 and had an average of $23,564 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 6,518 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $65,008 and $25,246 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 3,865 engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 11 colleges that offered a degree in engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great engineering programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the engineering program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $0-$30k) 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 362 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $1,866 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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%.

Read more about Engineering at Northwestern

#2 in overall quality

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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 1,667 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

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

#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. SIUE is a fairly large school located in Edwardsville, Illinois that handed out 206 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $8,055 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Engineering at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

#6 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIC is a large public school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 560 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Engineering at UIC

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#8 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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 238 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,281 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Read full report on Engineering at NIU

#10 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This fairly large school is located in Carbondale, Illinois, and it awarded 140 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #10 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $13,658 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Engineering at SIUC

#7

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Wheaton College Illinois did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Wheaton College Illinois is located in Wheaton, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 7 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

Wheaton College Illinois also took the #3 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Wheaton College Illinois is $18,440 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

The impressive 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. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Wheaton College Illinois Engineering Report

#8

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Bradley University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Peoria, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 162 students in 2019-2020.

Bradley not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $17,205 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bradley University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Bradley Engineering Report

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#11 in overall quality

Western Illinois University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 24 degrees to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

WIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #11 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,942 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend WIU.

Read more about Engineering at Western Illinois University

#10

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Olivet Nazarene University landed the #10 spot on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Olivet Nazarene University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Bourbonnais, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 79 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene also took the #7 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,806 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Olivet Nazarene.

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 Engineering at Olivet Nazarene

#5 in overall quality

Illinois Institute of Technology ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 317 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k list, Illinois Tech has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Institute of Technology is $17,222 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Engineering Report

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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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