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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Illinois (With Aid)

9 Ranked Colleges
337 Degrees Awarded
$25,300 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for students. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 10,015 people earned their degree in philosophy, making the major the 81st most popular in the United States. 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. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 337 philosophy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in philosophy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality philosophy programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the philosophy program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

Top 9 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Philosophy in Illinois (With Aid)

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #1 spot on the list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 29 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Philosophy 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 philosophy students with aid.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The low student loan default rate of 2.4% 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 Philosophy at UIUC

#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 for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Evanston, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree 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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 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 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 join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois State University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #5 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 Illinois State University Philosophy Report

#4

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Wheaton College Illinois landed the #4 spot on the list. Wheaton College Illinois is located in Wheaton, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees to qualified students.

Wheaton College Illinois also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Wheaton College Illinois is $25,358 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 90%. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Full Wheaton College Illinois Philosophy Report

#5

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 #5 for the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 70 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $27,315 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid per year to attend UChicago.

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. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. 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%.

Read full report on Philosophy at University of Chicago

#6

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

Elmhurst University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 3 students in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,485 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid per year to attend Elmhurst.

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

#7

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Lake Forest, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 9 degrees to qualified bachelors’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

Lake Forest also made our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #8. The estimated yearly cost for Lake Forest is $26,426 for illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Full Lake Forest Philosophy Report

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. DePaul University is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 17 bachelors’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul also took the #7 spot in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul University is $30,090 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid.

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

Loyola University Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #9. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s philosophy degrees to 18 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree philosophy students with aid list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Philosophy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $35,407 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Philosophy students with aid per year to attend Loyola Chicago.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on 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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