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2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

8 Ranked Colleges
155 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

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 in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered 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.

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 geological and earth sciences program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

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 in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 8 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #1 spot on the list. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 19 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $6,452 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Northwestern

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #2 spot on the list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 14 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $7,934 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UChicago.

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. With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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%.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UChicago

Out of the 8 schools in the Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k 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 school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 22 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC also took the #3 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $13,351 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

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%. 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 be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. UIC is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 21 ’s geology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIC has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $13,683 for illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

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

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 in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 12 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also made our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Carbondale is $14,985 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Southern Illinois University Carbondale

#6

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

With a ranking of #6, Northern Illinois University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 20 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northern Illinois University is $18,346 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Northern Illinois University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 25 ’s geology degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, Illinois State has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $19,080 for Illinois Geology students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Illinois State University.

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 did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Macomb, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified ’s geology students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k list, WIU has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend WIU is $15,912 for illinois geology students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about 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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