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2022 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

5 Ranked Colleges
109 Degrees Awarded
$10,900 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Religious Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 9,704 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $32,163 and had an average of $28,712 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 109 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in religious studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality religious studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the religious studies program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 5 Best Value Colleges for Religious Studies (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

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 #1 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #2 spot in our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $1,866 for Illinois Religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern University.

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. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 0.8% 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 Northwestern University Religious Studies Report

#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 Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Chicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 3 ’s 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 Religious Studies Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $2,712 for illinois religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. 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.

Read more about Religious Studies at University of Chicago

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $5,477 for illinois religion students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIUC.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full UIUC Religious Studies Report

#4

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, Illinois

Out of the 5 schools in the Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Lake Forest College landed the #4 spot on the list. Lake Forest College is located in Lake Forest, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.

Lake Forest not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Lake Forest is $18,192 for illinois religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%.

Full Lake Forest College Religious Studies Report

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Religion Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. DePaul University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Religious Studies Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend DePaul is $26,173 for illinois religion students whose families make $0-$30k.

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 Religious Studies at DePaul University

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 Sowlos.

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