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2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$10,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking - to help you make that decision.

Geological & Earth Sciences is the 84th most popular major in the country with 8,918 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. 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 $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in geological and earth sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great geological and earth sciences 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 geological and earth sciences program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

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 $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Top 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $30-$48k) 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 $30-$48k 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $3,995 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northwestern.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. 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.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern University

#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 $30-$48k. University of Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 6 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

UChicago also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $2,800 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UChicago.

The low student loan default rate of 0.6% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 100%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full University of Chicago Geological & Earth Sciences Report

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 #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school situated in Champaign, Illinois. It awarded 15 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $8,464 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. 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 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 $30-$48k. 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 did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $11,185 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend UIC.

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 more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UIC

#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 $30-$48k. NIU is a fairly large school located in Dekalb, Illinois that handed out 11 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

NIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $15,861 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Full Northern Illinois University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7 in overall quality

With a ranking of #6, Southern Illinois University Carbondale did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Located in Carbondale, Illinois, this fairly large public school handed out 4 degrees to qualified bachelors’s geology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k list, SIUC has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for SIUC is $14,306 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at SIUC

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

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 Making $30-$48k ranking. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geology degrees to 12 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State University is $14,999 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%.

Full Illinois State University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#8

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k list. Western Illinois University is a medium-sized public school situated in Macomb, Illinois. It awarded 1 bachelors’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Western Illinois University is $14,526 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Western Illinois University Geological & 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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