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2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

7 Ranked Colleges
654 Degrees Awarded
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

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.

This year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy programs that also have a lower cost than 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. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Public Policy 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 Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don’t have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $48-$75k) in Illinois

#1

University of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools 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. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 511 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UChicago did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $7,934 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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

Read more about Public Policy at UChicago

#2

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 66 ’s public policy 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 Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Northwestern is $6,452 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Chicago. It ranked #3 on our 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Chicago, Illinois is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 27 students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, UIC has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend UIC is $13,683 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

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 more about Public Policy at University of Illinois at Chicago

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet Nazarene University landed the #4 spot on the list. Bourbonnais, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s public policy degrees to 2 students in 2019-2020.

Olivet Nazarene not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene is $17,841 for illinois public policy 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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Olivet Nazarene University

#5

National Louis University

Chicago, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, National Louis University landed the #5 spot on the list. National Louis University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

NLU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $16,888 for illinois public policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend National Louis University.

Read more about Public Policy at NLU

#6

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. Loyola University Chicago is a fairly large school located in Chicago, Illinois that handed out 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Loyola Chicago, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Loyola Chicago is $32,259 for illinois public policy students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago

#7

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

With a ranking of #7, DePaul University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $48-$75k list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 27 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public policy students whose families make $48-$75k list, DePaul has also earned the #6 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. It costs about $28,075 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend DePaul.

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%.

Read more about Public Policy at DePaul

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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