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2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

12 Ranked Colleges
419 Degrees Awarded
$22,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Natural Resources Conservation is the 50th most popular major in the country with 22,202 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, natural resources conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,654 and had an average of $25,969 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 516 natural resources conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,150 and $23,920 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 419 natural resources conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in natural resources conservation. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent natural resources conservation 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 natural resources conservation program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The conservation 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 Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois”.

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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

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

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources Conservation in Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s conservation degrees to 67 students in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, 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 94%.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at UIUC

#2

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 34 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU also made our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. The yearly cost to attend NIU is $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at NIU

#10 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Springfield landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Springfield is a small school located in Springfield, Illinois that handed out 9 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students list, UIS has also earned the #10 rank in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIS is $12,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at University of Illinois at Springfield

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern Illinois University landed the #4 spot on the list. Northeastern Illinois University is a medium-sized school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 18 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northeastern Illinois University, the school also landed the #12 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northeastern Illinois University is $15,843 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at Northeastern Illinois University

#11 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 14 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #11 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students.

Read full report on Natural Resources Conservation at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois

Augustana College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 29 degrees to qualified bachelors’s conservation students in 2019-2020.

Augustana also made our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $23,874 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students per year to attend Augustana College.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Augustana Natural Resources Conservation Report

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 30 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at DePaul, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students per year to attend DePaul.

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 Natural Resources Conservation Report

#8

Knox College

Galesburg, Illinois

Knox College did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking, coming in at #8. Knox College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Galesburg, Illinois. It awarded 16 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

Knox also took the #6 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Knox College is $22,292 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students.

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. The low student loan default rate of 4.8% 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 Natural Resources Conservation at Knox College

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. Loyola Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 70 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $35,407 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students per year to attend Loyola Chicago.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Loyola University Chicago Natural Resources Conservation Report

#10

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

With a ranking of #10, Lake Forest College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

Lake Forest did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest College is $26,426 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at Lake Forest College

#11

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois

With a ranking of #11, Illinois Wesleyan University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois list. Illinois Wesleyan is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bloomington, Illinois. It awarded 8 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students list, Illinois Wesleyan has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Wesleyan University is $26,039 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Conservation students.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at Illinois Wesleyan

#12

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois ranking. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 21 bachelors’s conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also took the #1 spot in our “Best Natural Resources Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $27,315 for illinois bachelor’s degree conservation students.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%. The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read more about Natural Resources Conservation at University of Chicago

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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 Lynn Betts.

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