2022 Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Individualized Studies is the 35th most popular major in the country with 36,493 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 206 individualized studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 4 colleges that offered a degree in individualized studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent individualized 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 individualized studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

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. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Individualized Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$13,942 Average Net Price

$37,263 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. WIU is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 159 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also made our “Best Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $13,942 for Illinois Individualized Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Read more about Individualized Studies at Western Illinois University

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$9,771 Average Net Price

$46,200 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #2 spot on the list. This small school is located in Springfield, Illinois, and it awarded 3 ’s individualized studies degrees in 2019-2020.

UIS also made our “Best Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for UIS is $9,771 for illinois individualized studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full University of Illinois at Springfield Individualized Studies Report

#3

North Central College

Naperville, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$18,889 Average Net Price

$38,413 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, North Central College landed the #3 spot on the list. Naperville, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s individualized studies degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

North Central also took the #3 spot in our “Best Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for North Central is $18,889 for Illinois Individualized Studies students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Individualized Studies at North Central

#4

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$26,173 Average Net Price

$46,448 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend DePaul University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. This large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 21 ’s individualized studies degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also made our “Best Individualized Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $26,173 for Illinois Individualized Studies students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend DePaul University.

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 Individualized Studies Report

• Best Value Colleges for Individualized Studies (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Individualized Studies (Income $0-$30k)

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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