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2022 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

9 Ranked Colleges
417 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Philosophy is the 81st most popular major in the country with 10,015 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, philosophy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $29,067 and had an average of $22,199 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 417 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,300 and $23,445 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in philosophy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great philosophy programs and 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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” 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. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 9 Best Value Colleges for Philosophy (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 25 students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #2 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $6,452 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read more about Philosophy at Northwestern

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 76 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $7,934 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UChicago Philosophy Report

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 34 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,351 for illinois philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Philosophy Report

#4

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Wheaton College Illinois landed the #4 spot on the list. This small school is located in Wheaton, Illinois, and it awarded 17 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k list, Wheaton College Illinois has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Wheaton College Illinois is $19,691 for illinois philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 0.7% 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%. 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.

Read more about Philosophy at Wheaton College Illinois

#5

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also took the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State is $19,080 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full Illinois State Philosophy Report

#6

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. 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 whose families make $48-$75k list, Lake Forest has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest is $24,683 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 2.5% 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 Philosophy at Lake Forest College

#7

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, Elmhurst University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Elmhurst is a private not-for-profit institution located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Elmhurst, the school also landed the #9 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,703 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Elmhurst University.

The low student loan default rate of 3.0% 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 Philosophy at Elmhurst University

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s philosophy degrees to 23 students in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #7 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul University is $28,075 for Illinois Philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul Philosophy Report

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #9, Loyola University Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Loyola University Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 41 ’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola University Chicago is $32,259 for illinois philosophy students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%. 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 full report on Philosophy at Loyola 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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