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

8 Ranked Colleges
98 Degrees Awarded
$19,200 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 has developed its “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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. 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.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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.

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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Geological & Earth Sciences Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

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 8 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Illinois (With Aid)

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.

UIUC not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. 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 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 more about Geological & Earth Sciences at UIUC

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 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid.

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

#3

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 #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. 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.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at NIU, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,259 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid per year to attend NIU.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Northern Illinois University

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northwestern University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 10 bachelors’s geology 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. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $24,664 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid.

With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. 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. 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%.

Full Northwestern University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#7 in overall quality

Out of the 8 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, Southern Illinois University Carbondale landed the #5 spot on the list. SIUC is located in Carbondale, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at SIUC, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $16,945 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students with aid per year to attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Full Southern Illinois University Carbondale Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#6

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

Western Illinois University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #6. 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. It costs about $16,210 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid per year to attend WIU.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at WIU

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #7. Illinois State University is located in Normal, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s geology degrees to qualified students.

Illinois State did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,895 for illinois bachelor’s degree geology students with aid 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

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

With a ranking of #8, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 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. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $27,315 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geology students with aid.

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. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at UChicago

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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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