2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 1,268 people earned their degree in astronomy and astrophysics, making the major the 222nd most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, astronomy and astrophysics graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $27,700 and had an average of $21,346 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 62 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 44 astronomy and astrophysics graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in astronomy and astrophysics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astronomy and astrophysics programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the astronomy and astrophysics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

The astronomy 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$2,712 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 6 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $2,712 for illinois bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Chicago.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at UChicago

#2

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$5,477 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 34 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIUC is $5,477 for illinois bachelor’s degree astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Astronomy & Astrophysics at UIUC

#3

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$17,222 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 4 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $17,222 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois Institute of Technology.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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 Illinois Institute of Technology Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k)

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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