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2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

7 Ranked Colleges
92 Degrees Awarded
$18,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

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.

For this year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer 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

The geology 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid”.

We’ve created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most 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 Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid.

Top 7 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geology & Earth Sciences in Illinois (With Aid)

#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 #1 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 15 students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIUC, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,880 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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

Full UIUC Geology & Earth Sciences Report

#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 #2 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 18 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UIC, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $13,312 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid 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 University of Illinois at Chicago

#3

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 #3 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Northern Illinois University is a public institution located in Dekalb, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s degrees 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 estimated yearly cost for NIU is $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid.

Read more about Geology & Earth Sciences at Northern Illinois University

#4

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 Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 10 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students with aid.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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%.

Read full report on Geology & Earth Sciences at Northwestern

#6 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 4 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,945 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid per year to attend SIUC.

Full SIUC Geology & Earth Sciences Report

#6

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Western Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Western Illinois University is a public institution located in Macomb, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #7 spot in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid.

Read more about Geology & Earth Sciences at WIU

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois
#3 in overall quality

Illinois State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking. Illinois State is a public institution located in Normal, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 12 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students with aid list, Illinois State has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geology & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $20,895 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid 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

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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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