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2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

12 Ranked Colleges
168 Degrees Awarded
$33,000 Avg Salary
Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking.

In 2019-2020, 8,936 people earned their degree in geography and cartography, making the major the 107th most popular in the United States. In 2017-2018, geography and cartography graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $36,126 and had an average of $23,577 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 242 geography and cartography graduates with average earnings and debt of $33,000 and $19,500 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 168 geography and cartography graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking looked at 12 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in geography and cartography. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent geography and cartography programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the geography and cartography program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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 Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” 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 Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 12 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Geography & Cartography (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois
#1 in overall quality

Out of the 12 schools in the Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 4 bachelors’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $7,934 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of Chicago.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 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 UChicago Geography & Cartography Report

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois
#2 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northwestern University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Northwestern is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 1 bachelors’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Northwestern, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $6,452 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Northwestern.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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 Geography & Cartography at Northwestern University

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 Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Champaign, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geography degrees to 30 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIUC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is $13,351 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography 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%. 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 Geography & Cartography at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. SIUE is located in Edwardsville, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 32 bachelors’s geography degrees to qualified students.

SIUE also made our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is $13,705 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Geography & Cartography Report

#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 Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k. Northern Illinois University is located in Dekalb, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 13 bachelors’s geography degrees to qualified students.

NIU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $18,346 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend NIU.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at NIU

#6

Eastern Illinois University

Charleston, Illinois

Eastern Illinois University landed the #6 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Eastern Illinois University is located in Charleston, Illinois and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 14 bachelors’s geography degrees to qualified students.

EIU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Eastern Illinois University is $13,560 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at EIU

#7

Illinois State University

Normal, Illinois

Illinois State University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. Normal, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s geography degrees to 31 students in 2019-2020.

Illinois State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #4 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Illinois State is $19,080 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 Geography & Cartography at Illinois State University

#8

Augustana College

Rock Island, Illinois
#5 in overall quality

Augustana College landed the #8 spot on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Augustana College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Rock Island, Illinois. It awarded 17 bachelors’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k list, Augustana has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Augustana College is $21,453 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Augustana Geography & Cartography Report

#9

Western Illinois University

Macomb, Illinois
#11 in overall quality

Western Illinois University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. WIU is a medium-sized school located in Macomb, Illinois that handed out 2 bachelors’s geography degrees in 2019-2020.

WIU also took the #11 spot in our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,912 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Western Illinois University.

Read full report on Geography & Cartography at WIU

Northeastern Illinois University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this medium-sized public school handed out 8 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geography students in 2019-2020.

Northeastern Illinois University also made our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #10. The yearly cost to attend Northeastern Illinois University is $18,180 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

Full Northeastern Illinois University Geography & Cartography Report

#11

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, Illinois
#8 in overall quality

Elmhurst University did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #11. Elmhurst, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelors’s geography degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Elmhurst not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend Elmhurst University is $19,703 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Geography & Cartography at Elmhurst University

#12

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #12, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Geography Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 14 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s geography students in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #12 on our “Best Geography & Cartography Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for DePaul is $28,075 for illinois bachelor’s degree geography students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 4.5% 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 DePaul University Geography & Cartography 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 Couleur.

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