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2022 Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

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

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 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 Getting Aid” ranking looked at 9 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s 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.

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. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank Philosophy Schools

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”.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest 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 colleges and universities below are the best for illinois philosophy students with aid.

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

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 Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 34 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,880 for illinois philosophy students with aid 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 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 more about 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 in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Northwestern is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Evanston, Illinois. It awarded 25 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $24,664 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, 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 97%. 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.

Full Northwestern Philosophy Report

#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. Illinois State University 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 did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State is $20,895 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Read more about Philosophy at Illinois State University

#4

Wheaton College Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Out of the 9 schools in the Best Value Philosophy Schools 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 a private not-for-profit institution located in Wheaton, Illinois. The school has a small population, and it awarded 17 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

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

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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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%.

Read more about 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. University of Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 76 ’s philosophy degrees 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. 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. 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 UChicago Philosophy Report

#6

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois

Elmhurst University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Located in Elmhurst, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 3 diplomas to qualified ’s philosophy students in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst also made our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #9. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst University is $21,485 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Philosophy at Elmhurst

#7

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Lake Forest College ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid 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.

Lake Forest also took the #8 spot 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 College.

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 more about Philosophy at Lake Forest

#8

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid 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.

In addition to being on our illinois philosophy students with aid list, DePaul has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Philosophy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $30,090 for illinois philosophy students with aid.

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%.

Read full report on Philosophy at DePaul

#9

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Philosophy Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 41 ’s philosophy degrees in 2019-2020.

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

With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

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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