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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

5 Ranked Colleges
227 Degrees Awarded
$11,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor's in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Illinois, there were 654 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $51,600 and $37,312 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 227 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,319 and $24,183 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking analyzed 5 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public policy 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 public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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 Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k” 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 Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 5 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Public Policy (Income $30-$48k) in Illinois

#1

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 #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. This fairly large school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 129 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $2,800 for illinois bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

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. 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 100%.

Full UChicago Public Policy Report

#2

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 #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Northwestern University is a large school located in Evanston, Illinois that handed out 66 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Northwestern has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern University is $3,995 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Public Policy at Northwestern

#3 in overall quality

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Chicago. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. University of Illinois at Chicago is a public institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 25 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIC also made our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for UIC is $11,185 for illinois bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k.

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 Public Policy at UIC

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois
#4 in overall quality

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 Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. Olivet Nazarene University is a small school located in Bourbonnais, Illinois that handed out 2 bachelors’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k list, Olivet Nazarene has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $15,390 for illinois bachelor’s degree public policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Olivet Nazarene University.

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%.

Full Olivet Nazarene University Public Policy Report

#5

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend DePaul University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools for a Bachelor’s in Illinois For Those Making $30-$48k. DePaul is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 5 bachelors’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

DePaul also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $25,842 for Illinois Bachelor’s Degree Public Policy students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend DePaul University.

The student loan default rate at the school is 4.5%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full DePaul Public Policy 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.

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