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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

5 Ranked Colleges
91 Degrees Awarded
$21,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Area Studies is the 106th most popular major in the country with 6,820 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 91 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in area studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area studies programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the area studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools

The area studies 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 Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k”.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area Studies (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 13 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,784 for illinois bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Northwestern.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. 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%.

Read more about 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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 14 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $17,929 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UChicago.

The low 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Area Studies at University of Chicago

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 #3 for the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 18 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $21,998 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area Studies students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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 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 Area Studies at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 16 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,270 for illinois bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UIC.

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

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Area Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, DePaul University landed the #5 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area studies students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $30,877 for illinois bachelor’s degree area studies students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Area Studies at DePaul University

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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