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2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

8 Ranked Colleges
245 Degrees Awarded
$12,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 16,240 people earned their degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies, making the major the 30th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $30,827 and had an average of $22,562 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 363 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,050 and $25,673 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 245 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies 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 area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college 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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies (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 Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 26 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern University is $1,866 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Northwestern

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies students in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $2,712 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Full UChicago Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

#3 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 #3 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 47 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $5,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Report

#4 in overall quality

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large public school awarded 54 degrees to qualified bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies students in 2019-2020.

UIC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $10,648 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Chicago.

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 Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at University of Illinois at Chicago

#5

Aurora University

Aurora, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Aurora University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Aurora University is a medium-sized school located in Aurora, Illinois that handed out 3 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Aurora also took the #5 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,103 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Aurora.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Aurora

#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University also took the #8 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,816 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northeastern Illinois University.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Northeastern Illinois University

#7

Columbia College Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

Columbia College Chicago landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s area, ethnic, culture, and gender studies degrees to 8 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Columbia College Chicago is $27,120 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies at Columbia

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #8. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 22 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $26,173 for illinois bachelor’s degree area, ethnic, culture, & gender studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full DePaul University Area, Ethnic, Culture, & Gender Studies 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.

Credits

  • Credit for the banner image above goes to G. Mützel.

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