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2022 Best Value Colleges for Geological & Earth Sciences in Illinois (With Aid)

8 Ranked Colleges
155 Degrees Awarded
$19,200 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, students have many different options to choose from. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” 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.

This year’s “Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” ranking analyzed 8 colleges that offered a degree in geological and earth sciences. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality geological and earth sciences programs that also have a lower cost than 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois geology students with aid.

Top 8 Best Value 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 in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. This large school is located in Champaign, Illinois, and it awarded 22 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois geology students with aid list, UIUC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $15,880 for Illinois Geology students with aid.

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%. 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 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 #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s geology degrees to 21 students in 2019-2020.

UIC also took the #5 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Chicago is $13,312 for illinois 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%.

Full UIC Geological & Earth Sciences Report

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. SIUC is a fairly large public school situated in Carbondale, Illinois. It awarded 12 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

SIUC also took the #6 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend SIUC is $16,945 for Illinois Geology students with aid.

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

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

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 in Illinois For Those Getting Aid. Located in Evanston, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified ’s geology students in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also took the #1 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $24,664 for illinois geology students with aid per year to attend Northwestern.

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%. 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

#5

Northern Illinois University

Dekalb, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid list. This fairly large school is located in Dekalb, Illinois, and it awarded 20 ’s geology degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois geology students with aid list, NIU has also earned the #7 rank in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $18,259 for Illinois Geology students with aid per year to attend Northern Illinois University.

Full Northern Illinois University Geological & Earth Sciences Report

#6

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois

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

As a testament to the quality of education offered at WIU, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Western Illinois University is $16,210 for illinois geology students with aid.

Read more about Geological & Earth Sciences at Western Illinois University

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid 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.

Illinois State also took the #4 spot in our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Illinois State is $20,895 for Illinois Geology students with aid.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Geological & Earth Sciences at Illinois State

#8

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

University of Chicago did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geology Schools in Illinois For Those Getting Aid ranking, coming in at #8. 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 not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Geological & Earth Sciences Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend UChicago is $27,315 for illinois geology students with aid.

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

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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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