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

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$9,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology 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 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 Making $0-$30k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2019-2020, 8,918 people earned their degree in geological and earth sciences, making the major the 84th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, geological and earth sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $35,533 and had an average of $23,531 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 155 geological and earth sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $32,700 and $21,833 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 98 geological 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 Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geological and earth sciences programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. 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 Making $0-$30k”.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. 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 colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 8 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. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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 impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, 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 97%. 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 Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. 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 Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 6 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

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

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Chicago

Out of the 8 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, 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 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 #3 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $5,477 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 18 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

UIC also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #5. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $10,648 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at University of Illinois at Chicago

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northern Illinois University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Dekalb, Illinois is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 11 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k list, NIU has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for NIU is $15,281 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Northern Illinois University

#7 in overall quality

Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. 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 also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #7. It costs about $13,658 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Full SIUC Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Illinois State University is a large public school situated in Normal, Illinois. It awarded 12 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #4. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State University is $14,470 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State University

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

With a ranking of #8, 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $13,942 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Illinois University

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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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