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

7 Ranked Colleges
92 Degrees Awarded
$10,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Geology & Earth Sciences is the 101st most popular major in the country with 7,036 degrees awarded in 2019-2020.

Across Illinois, there were 128 geology and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 92 geology and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in geology and earth sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geology and earth sciences programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the geology and earth sciences program at the school. 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

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

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $1,866 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

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%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Northwestern University Geology & Earth Sciences Report

#2 in overall quality

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 #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 15 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k list, UIUC has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $5,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 full report on Geology & Earth Sciences at UIUC

#4 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. UIC is a large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 18 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend UIC.

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 Geology & Earth Sciences at UIC

#4

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in Dekalb, Illinois, this fairly large public school awarded 11 degrees to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend NIU is $15,281 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full NIU Geology & Earth Sciences Report

#6 in overall quality

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large school located in Carbondale, Illinois that handed out 4 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $13,658 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Geology & Earth Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Illinois State University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois State is a large school located in Normal, Illinois that handed out 12 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Illinois State, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $14,470 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Illinois State.

The low student loan default rate of 4.4% 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 full report on Geology & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University

#7

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #7, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Macomb, Illinois is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 1 students in 2019-2020.

WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $13,942 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend WIU.

Full WIU Geology & Earth Sciences Report

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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 Kelvinsong.

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