Find Schools

Study Area & Zipcode

General Social Sciences

Find Schools Near

2022 Best Value Colleges for General Social Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

6 Ranked Colleges
259 Degrees Awarded
$13,000 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Social Sciences Schools 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 has developed its “Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

General Social Sciences is the 51st most popular major in the country with 19,742 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general social sciences graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $31,665 and had an average of $22,423 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 259 general social sciences graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,550 and $41,870 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking analyzed 6 colleges that offered a degree in general social sciences. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general social 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 general social sciences program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank General Social Sciences Schools

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique 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 Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Top 6 Best Value Colleges for General Social Sciences (Income $0-$30k) in Illinois

#1

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 #1 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Northwestern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #2. It costs about $1,866 for Illinois Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Northwestern University.

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

Read more about General Social Sciences at Northwestern University

#2

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

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 Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. UChicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 247 ’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for University of Chicago is $2,712 for illinois social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

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

Read full report on General Social Sciences at University of Chicago

#3

McKendree University

Lebanon, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend McKendree University. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Located in Lebanon, Illinois, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 1 diplomas to qualified ’s social sciences students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at McKendree, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,184 for Illinois Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend McKendree.

Full McKendree University General Social Sciences Report

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Olivet Nazarene University. The school came in at #4 for the Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k. Olivet Nazarene University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Bourbonnais, Illinois. It awarded 1 ’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Olivet Nazarene, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Olivet Nazarene University is $15,806 for illinois social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about General Social Sciences at Olivet Nazarene University

#5

Roosevelt University

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Roosevelt University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k list. Roosevelt University is a small school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 2 ’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Roosevelt also took the #6 spot in our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Roosevelt is $20,398 for Illinois Social Sciences students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about General Social Sciences at Roosevelt

#6

Rockford University

Rockford, Illinois

Rockford University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Social Sciences Schools in Illinois For Those Making $0-$30k ranking, coming in at #6. Rockford University is a small school located in Rockford, Illinois that handed out 1 ’s social sciences degrees in 2019-2020.

Rockford not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Social Sciences Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $21,868 for illinois social sciences students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Rockford University.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Rockford University General Social Sciences Report

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

Featured Political and Social Sciences Schools

Find Schools Near You