2024 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois
If you pursue a bachelor's degree in
nursing, you won't be alone. The field of study is the #2 most popular program in the country. So, there are lots of possibilities to explore when you're trying to determine where you want to get your degree.
College Factual looked at 35 colleges and universities when compiling its 2024 Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 12,329 bachelor's degrees in nursing during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Our Methodology
Choosing a Great Nursing School for Your Bachelor's Degree
The nursing bachelor's degree program you select can have a big impact on your future. Important measures of a quality nursing program can vary widely even among the top schools. Below we explain some of the most important factors to consider before making your choice:
Overall Quality Is a Must
A school that excels in educating for a particular major and degree level must be a great school overall as well. To make it into this list a school must rank well in our overall Best Colleges ranking. This ranking considered factors such as graduation rates, overall graduate earnings and other educational resources to identify great colleges and universities.
Average Early-Career Salaries
Average early-career salary of those graduating with their bachelor's degree is one indicator we use in our analysis to find the schools that offer the highest-quality education. After all, your bachelor's degree won't mean much if it doesn't help you find a job that will help you earn a living.
Other Factors We Consider
In addition to the above, you should consider some of the following factors:
- Major Focus - How much a school focuses on nursing students vs. other majors.
- Major Demand - The number of nursing students who choose to seek a bachelor's degree at the school.
- Educational Resources - The amount of money and other resources allocated to students while they are pursuing their degree. These resources include such things as number of students per instructor and education expenditures per student.
- Student Debt - How easy is it for nursing to pay back their student loans after receiving their bachelor's degree.
- Accreditation - Whether a school is regionally accredited and/or accredited by a recognized nursing related body.
Our complete ranking methodology documents in more detail how we consider these factors to identify the best colleges for nursing students working on their bachelor's degree.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The nursing 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 the Best Nursing Bachelor's Degree Schools in Illinois.
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.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Best Schools for Bachelor’s Students to Study Nursing in Illinois
Below you'll see a list of the best colleges and universities for pursuing a bachelor's degree in nursing.
10 Top Illinois Schools for a Bachelor's in Nursing
Loyola University Chicago is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Located in the large city of Chicago, Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit university with a large student population.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Loyola University Chicago receive an earnings boost of about $3,491 over the average earnings of nursing graduates.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Loyola University Chicago
Oak Point University is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Oak Point is a fairly small private not-for-profit university located in the suburb of Oak Brook.
Bachelor's graduates who receive their degree from the nursing program make about $64,110 in the first couple years of working.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Oak Point University
Chamberlain University - Illinois is one of the best schools in the country for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. Chamberlain - Illinois is a fairly large private for-profit university located in the suburb of Addison.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from Chamberlain University - Illinois receive an earnings boost of about $8,263 above the average earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Chamberlain University - Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago is one of the finest schools in the United States for getting a bachelor's degree in nursing. UIC is a fairly large public university located in the city of Chicago.
Nursing bachelor's degree recipients from University of Illinois at Chicago earn a boost of around $2,401 over the typical earnings of nursing majors.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of Illinois at Chicago
Located in the midsize city of Peoria, Bradley is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn an average of $62,749 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Bradley University
Located in the medium-sized suburb of Normal, Illinois State is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients typically earn around $63,829 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Illinois State University
SACN is a small private not-for-profit college located in the midsize city of Rockford.
Soon after graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients usually make around $62,718 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Saint Anthony College of Nursing
Located in the large suburb of Joliet, University of Saint Francis is a private not-for-profit university with a small student population.
Students who graduate with their bachelor's from the nursing program state that they receive average early career earnings of $64,208.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from University of St Francis
Located in the suburb of Edwardsville, SIUE is a public university with a fairly large student population.
After graduation, nursing bachelor's recipients generally earn about $58,394 in their early careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
Located in the large suburb of Romeoville, Lewis is a private not-for-profit university with a moderately-sized student population.
After graduating, nursing bachelor's recipients usually earn an average of $64,192 at the beginning of their careers.
More information about a bachelor’s in nursing from Lewis University