Illinois is a unique state for many reasons. Residents of "The Prairie State" enjoy an ideal blend of rural Midwestern calm and urban city buzz, and Chicago stands out as a metropolitan beacon in a state that is known for its agricultural productivity. When it comes to college, this means that students who choose to attend school in Illinois will never be far from whatever activity they could desire, whether it's an internship in the capital city of Springfield, a music venue in downtown Chicago, or a relaxing camping trip in the woods. This also means that academic options for students are about as diverse as they come – Illinois is home to numerous metropolitan campuses in Chicago, several reputable state schools, and top-ranked national programs like Northwestern and the University of Chicago.
Of course, quality is meaningless if it isn't financially accessible to as many students as possible. That's where our ranking comes in – we take all the indicators that people use to identify "top" institutions, like selectivity, graduation rate, and return-on-investment – and add cost to the mix, revealing a distinct ranking that focuses specifically on "best value" schools. You may also want to check out our ranking of the top affordable online schools in Illinois.
Our Ranking Methodology:
Graduation Rate: This indicator refers to the percentage of students who complete their degree within 150% of normal time (six years for a typical four-year degree program). Schools that perform well in this area have a track record of keeping students engaged and successful for their entire time on campus. We weighted this category 30% of the total and retrieved the information from College Navigator.
Net Price: In order to make sure that cost was still a factor in the ranking, we also considered overall net price as an indicator. Taken from data on College Navigator, "net price" is an approximate value that refers to the average amount of money a student could expect to pay each year after taking into account tuition, room and board, living expenses, scholarship awards, and financial aid packages. We weighted this category 25% of the total.
Acceptance Rate: Academically challenging, popular universities tend to be more selective and thus have a lower acceptance rate. In order to pinpoint those colleges that boast rigorous academics and also receive a large number of applications, we considered acceptance rate – the percentage of students out of the total number of applicants who receive an acceptance letter. We retrieved this information from College Navigator and weighted it 30% of the total.
20-Year Net Return on Investment: Taken from information on the website PayScale, this statistic provides a picture of how much students can expect to make after they graduate from a particular college. More specifically, the figure is calculated by taking the average income an alumnus will make over his or her first 20 years after graduation and subtracting the amount paid in tuition. Schools with a high ROI tend to be better at preparing their students for the job market. We weighted this category only 15% because data was not available for all colleges considered.
After adding all the points, we gave each university a final score out of 200. The schools below have scores ranging from 98 to 164, and each has something different to offer in terms of its cost, quality, and reputation. No one college is perfect (which is why the scores vary so much) but this ranking offers you a premier selection of universities to help get you started on your search for an education in Illinois.
Also check out the full list of best cheap online colleges.
Featured Online Programs
Figuring out where to apply? These top, accredited schools offer a variety of online degrees. Consider one of these accredited programs, and discover their value today.
Sources:
College Navigator
Pay Scale
About the Author:
Iris Stone began her writing career as a freelance writer and researcher. She now owns and operates a writing and editing firm that works with clients all across the country. Her work has included articles related to education policy, colleges and universities, academic programs, and careers.
