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2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

7 Ranked Colleges
654 Degrees Awarded
$23,600 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k

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 Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” ranking.

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 $75-$110k” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy 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 public policy program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. 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 Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k” 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 $75-$110k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k.

Top 7 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $75-$110k) 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Chicago landed the #1 spot on the list. UChicago is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 511 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UChicago, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The yearly cost to attend University of Chicago is $17,929 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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%. Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #2 spot on the list. Northwestern University is located in Evanston, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 66 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

Northwestern also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Northwestern is $16,784 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Northwestern

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Illinois at Chicago landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Illinois at Chicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 27 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

UIC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $20,270 for Illinois Public Policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend University of Illinois at Chicago.

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 more about Public Policy at UIC

#4

Olivet Nazarene University

Bourbonnais, Illinois

Out of the 7 schools in the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, Olivet Nazarene University landed the #4 spot on the list. Olivet Nazarene is located in Bourbonnais, Illinois and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 2 ’s public policy degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, Olivet Nazarene has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Olivet Nazarene University is $21,306 for illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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 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 $75-$110k that were part of this year’s ranking, National Louis University landed the #5 spot on the list. NLU is a private not-for-profit institution located in Chicago, Illinois. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NLU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #8 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. The estimated yearly cost for National Louis University is $21,269 for illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

Read more about Public Policy at NLU

#6

DePaul University

Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University ranked #6 on this year’s Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k list. DePaul is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 27 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” list. It costs about $30,877 for illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k per year to attend DePaul University.

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%.

Read full report on Public Policy at DePaul University

#7

Loyola University Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Loyola University Chicago landed the #7 spot on the 2022 Best Value Public Policy Schools in Illinois For Those Making $75-$110k ranking. Loyola Chicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 12 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k list, Loyola Chicago has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Illinois” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Loyola University Chicago is $36,700 for illinois public policy students whose families make $75-$110k.

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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read full report on Public Policy at Loyola University Chicago

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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