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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

11 Ranked Colleges
3,865 Degrees Awarded
$63,140 Avg Salary
Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 200,458 engineering students received their degree, making the major the 6th most popular in the country. 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 $48-$75k” ranking looked at 11 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in engineering. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent engineering programs, but they also 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

The engineering 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 “Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k”.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. 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.

Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 11 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Engineering (Income $48-$75k) 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 $48-$75k list. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 362 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $6,452 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Northwestern University Engineering Report

#2 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in Champaign, Illinois, this large public school handed out 1,667 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s engineering students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,351 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

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

#6 in overall quality

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 Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s engineering degrees to 560 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIC has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,683 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering 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%.

Full UIC Engineering Report

#9 in overall quality

Out of the 11 schools in the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville landed the #4 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is a fairly large public school situated in Edwardsville, Illinois. It awarded 206 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUE also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend SIUE is $13,705 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Engineering at SIUE

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 238 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, NIU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,346 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Read more about Engineering at NIU

#6

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Wheaton College Illinois ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. This small school is located in Wheaton, Illinois, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Wheaton College Illinois also made our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Wheaton College Illinois is $19,691 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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 Engineering at Wheaton College Illinois

#10 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 140 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, SIUC has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $14,985 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read full report on Engineering at SIUC

#8

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Olivet Nazarene University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. Olivet Nazarene 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 did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $17,841 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 full report on Engineering at Olivet Nazarene

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#11 in overall quality

Western Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. WIU is located in Macomb, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 24 bachelors’s engineering degrees to qualified students.

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 $15,912 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend WIU.

Read more about Engineering at WIU

#10

Bradley University

Peoria, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Bradley University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Bradley is a medium-sized school located in Peoria, Illinois that handed out 162 bachelors’s engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Bradley, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Bradley is $22,865 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%.

Read more about Engineering at Bradley University

#5 in overall quality

With a ranking of #11, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 317 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $22,542 for illinois bachelor’s degree engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 more about 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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