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2022 Best Value Colleges for Legal Research in Illinois (With Aid)

5 Ranked Colleges
877 Degrees Awarded
$28,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking - to help you make that decision.

In 2019-2020, 9,738 people earned their degree in legal research, making the major the 89th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, legal research graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $64,635 and had an average of $65,122 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 877 legal research graduates with average earnings and debt of $86,633 and $86,407 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in legal research. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality legal research programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

The legal research 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 Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons 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.

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

#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 Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Northwestern is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 288 ’s legal research degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern also made our “Best Legal Research Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $24,664 for Illinois Legal Research students with aid.

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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Legal Research at Northwestern

#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 Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 86 ’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Legal Research Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The estimated yearly cost for UChicago is $27,315 for illinois legal research students with aid.

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.

Read more about Legal Research at UChicago

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This medium-sized school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 109 ’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois Tech, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Legal Research Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Tech is $22,831 for illinois legal research students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Legal Research Report

#4

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Loyola University Chicago landed the #4 spot on the list. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 264 ’s legal research degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago also took the #3 spot in our “Best Legal Research Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $35,407 for Illinois Legal Research students with aid per year to attend Loyola University Chicago.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 Loyola University Chicago Legal Research Report

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Research Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s legal research degrees to 49 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #5 spot in our “Best Legal Research Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for Illinois Legal Research students with aid per year to attend DePaul University.

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 full report on Legal Research 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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