2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in Illinois

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois” ranking looked at 3 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.

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

More Ways to Rank Astronomy & Astrophysics Schools

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”.

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. 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 Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in Illinois

#1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Champaign, Illinois

#2 in overall quality

$15,880 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. UIUC is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 34 bachelors’s astronomy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.

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.

Read full report on Astronomy & Astrophysics at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

#2

Illinois Institute of Technology

Chicago, Illinois

#3 in overall quality

$22,831 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Illinois Institute of Technology. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois. Illinois Tech is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s astronomy degrees to qualified students.

Illinois Tech also made our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $22,831 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students per year to attend Illinois Tech.

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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Illinois Institute of Technology Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

#3

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$27,315 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Astronomy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 6 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s astronomy students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Astronomy & Astrophysics Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $27,315 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Astronomy students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%. 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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UChicago Astronomy & Astrophysics Report

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Astronomy & Astrophysics

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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