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2022 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy in Illinois (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
396 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Philosophy is the 82nd most popular major in the country with 9,456 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 396 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 9 colleges that offer a degree in philosophy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent philosophy 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 philosophy program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The philosophy 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 Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy in Illinois (With Aid)

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 34 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Philosophy Report

#2

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 #2 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 25 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

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

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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 excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Philosophy at Northwestern University

#3

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Illinois State University. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 17 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students with aid list, Illinois State has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $20,895 for Illinois Philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Full Illinois State Philosophy Report

#4

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Wheaton College Illinois. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This small school is located in Wheaton, Illinois, and it awarded 17 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Wheaton College Illinois did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $25,358 for Illinois Philosophy students with aid per year to attend Wheaton College Illinois.

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 student loan default rate at the school is 0.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on Philosophy at Wheaton College Illinois

#5

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 76 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students with aid list, UChicago has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $27,315 for Illinois Philosophy students with aid per year to attend University of Chicago.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at UChicago

#6

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Elmhurst University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Elmhurst, Illinois. It awarded 3 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students with aid list, Elmhurst has also earned the #9 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst is $21,485 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Philosophy at Elmhurst University

#7

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Lake Forest, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 9 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students with aid list, Lake Forest has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $26,426 for Illinois Philosophy students with aid per year to attend Lake Forest.

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%.

Full Lake Forest Philosophy Report

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. DePaul is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $30,090 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

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 Philosophy Report

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 30 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Loyola Chicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $35,407 for Illinois Philosophy students with aid.

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 Philosophy at Loyola University Chicago

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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