Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

Natural Resources & Conservation

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

12 Ranked Colleges
493 Degrees Awarded
$24,500 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Natural Resources & Conservation is the 26th most popular major in the country with 30,341 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, natural resources and conservation graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $33,196 and had an average of $25,077 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 631 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $27,920 and $23,093 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 493 natural resources and conservation graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, we looked at 12 colleges that offer a degree in natural resources and conservation. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great natural resources and conservation programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the natural resources and conservation program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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

Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Natural Resources & Conservation (Income $75-$110k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 21 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $17,929 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend University of Chicago.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Full University of Chicago Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#2

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

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 Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. NIU is a fairly large public school situated in Dekalb, Illinois. It awarded 34 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $21,425 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at NIU

#11 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Springfield. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school handed out 9 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #11 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UIS is $17,342 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

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

#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 67 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $21,998 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend UIUC.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at UIUC

#9 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 63 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.

SIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $20,698 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

Full SIUC Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#6

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

Augustana College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Located in Rock Island, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 29 degrees to qualified bachelors’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

Augustana also took the #2 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana is $23,730 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

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.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Augustana

#7

Knox College

Galesburg, Illinois
#6 in overall quality

Knox College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Located in Galesburg, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 16 degrees to qualified bachelors’s natural resources and conservation students in 2019-2020.

Knox not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Knox is $23,813 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Knox Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#12 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, Northeastern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Northeastern Illinois University is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $22,526 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend Northeastern Illinois University.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Northeastern Illinois University

#9

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

With a ranking of #9, Lake Forest College did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. This small school is located in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it awarded 16 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

Lake Forest also took the #8 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest is $30,189 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Lake Forest

#10

Illinois Wesleyan University

Bloomington, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

Illinois Wesleyan University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. Illinois Wesleyan University is a small school located in Bloomington, Illinois that handed out 8 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Wesleyan not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois Wesleyan University is $27,302 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Natural Resources & Conservation at Illinois Wesleyan

#11

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois
#10 in overall quality

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking, coming in at #11. DePaul University is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 30 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also took the #10 spot in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $30,877 for illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k 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%.

Full DePaul University Natural Resources & Conservation Report

#12

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Loyola University Chicago landed the #12 spot on the 2022 Best Value Natural Resources & Conservation Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Loyola University Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 95 bachelors’s natural resources and conservation degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree natural resources & conservation students whose families make $75-$110k list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Natural Resources & Conservation Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola University Chicago is $36,700 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Natural Resources & Conservation students whose families make $75-$110k.

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%.

Read more about Natural Resources & Conservation at Loyola University Chicago

Switch to a Different Ranking Method

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.

Featured Environment / Natural Resources Schools

Find Schools Near You