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2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

6 Ranked Colleges
139 Degrees Awarded
$11,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 6,820 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 106th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,734 and had an average of $23,024 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 139 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $30,433 and $25,759 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking looked at 6 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area studies programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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

Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for Area Studies (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 13 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $3,995 for illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Area Studies at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s area studies degrees to 39 students in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $2,800 for illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 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 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Area Studies at University of Chicago

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 33 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, UIUC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $8,464 for Illinois Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIUC.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $11,185 for illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Area Studies at UIC

Out of the 6 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern Illinois University landed the #5 spot on the list. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northeastern Illinois University has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern Illinois University is $15,513 for Illinois Area Studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Area Studies at Northeastern Illinois University

#6

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 11 ’s area studies degrees to qualified students.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Area Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $25,842 for illinois area studies students whose families make $30-$48k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 full report on Area Studies at DePaul

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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