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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies in Illinois

5 Ranked Colleges
285 Degrees Awarded
$20,100 Avg Net Price*
Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking is part of that endeavor.

General Studies is one of the most popular majors in the nation, ranking 5th of all the majors we analyze. In 2019-2020, 133,583 degrees were awarded to students with this major.

Across Illinois, there were 2,959 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 285 general studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 5 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in general studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

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

More Ways to Rank General Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Studies in Illinois

#1

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois State is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 100 bachelors’s general studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also took the #2 spot in our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on General Studies at Illinois State University

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northeastern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Northeastern Illinois University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 19 bachelors’s general studies degrees to qualified students.

Northeastern Illinois University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern Illinois University is $15,843 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree General Studies students.

Full Northeastern Illinois University General Studies Report

#3

Lincoln College

Lincoln, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Lincoln College landed the #3 spot on the list. Lincoln, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s general studies degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

Lincoln College did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,797 for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students per year to attend Lincoln College.

Read more about General Studies at Lincoln College

#4

Chicago State University

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Chicago State University landed the #4 spot on the list. Chicago State University is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

CSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Chicago State University is $11,733 for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about General Studies at CSU

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value General Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 141 bachelors’s general studies degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also took the #1 spot in our “Best General Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $30,090 for illinois bachelor’s degree general studies students.

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 more about General Studies at DePaul

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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.

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