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2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

4 Ranked Colleges
62 Degrees Awarded
$6,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

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 Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Astronomy & Astrophysics is the 222nd most popular major in the country with 1,268 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in astronomy and astrophysics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great astronomy and astrophysics programs and 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

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

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

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

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 12 degrees to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $1,866 for Illinois Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, 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 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Northwestern Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Chicago. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 8 degrees to qualified ’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $2,712 for illinois astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Full University of Chicago Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign landed the #3 spot on the list. UIUC is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 38 ’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for illinois astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Full University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #4 spot on the list. Illinois Institute of Technology is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 4 ’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois Tech also took the #4 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois Tech is $17,222 for Illinois Astronomy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 2.9%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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 full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at Illinois Tech

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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