Money Magazine: Here’s Where Illinois Colleges Rank

ILLINOIS — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been named the best college for the money in Illinois by Money magazine. Money ranked 727 of the best colleges based on quality of education, affordability and outcomes. And while the usual suspects topped the list — Princeton ranked first — 31 colleges in the Prairie State also made the cut.

Money pared down its rankings by only including institutions that had at least 500 students, had sufficient, reliable data that could be analyzed, and weren’t strapped for cash. The colleges also had graduation rates that were at least the median for its institutional category — public, private or historically black college or university — or had a high “value-added” graduation rate. (Get Patched In: Subscribe to free daily email, news alerts, Facebook fun and more from Patch)

Here are the best colleges in Illinois and their overall ranks:

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (25)
• University of Chicago, Chicago (37)
• Northwestern University, Evanston (86)
• University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago (108)
• Illinois State University, Normal (127)
• Wheaton College, College (150)
• Lake Forest College, Lake Forest (173)
• University of St. Francis, Joliet (189)
• Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago (231)
• Lewis University, Romeoville (264)
• Aurora University, Aurora (271)
• Bradley University, Peoria (296)
• DePaul University, Chicago (301)
• Augustana College, Rock Island (320)
• Illinois College, Jacksonville (326)
• Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights (365)
• Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington (371)
• Knox College, Galesburg (379)
• Elmhurst College, Elmhurst (393)
• Millikin University, Decatur (411)
• Loyola University Chicago (436)
• Dominican University, River Forest (437)
• North Central College, Naperville (504)
• Robert Morris University, Chicago (536)
• Eastern Illinois University, Charleston (543)
• Judson University, Elgin (550)
• North Park University, Chicago (579)
• Eureka College, Eureka (614)
• Western Illinois University, Macomb (617)
• Rockford University, Rockford (630)
• School of the Art Institute of Chicago (709)

Here’s the breakdown of the top three colleges in Illinois:

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Overall rank: 25
• Median SAT/ACT score: 1380/29
• Estimated price 2018-19 without aid: $30,800
• Est. price 2018-19 with average grant: $17,900
• Percent with need who get grants: 64%
• Average student debt: $20,500
• Early career earnings: $58,600

University of Chicago

• Overall rank: 37
• Median SAT/ACT score: 1530/34
• Estimated price 2018-19 without aid: $77,600
• Est. price 2018-19 with average grant: $33,400
• Percent with need who get grants: 98%
• Average student debt: $14,500
• Early career earnings: $58,100

Northwestern University

• Overall rank: 86
• Median SAT/ACT score: 1480/33
• Estimated price 2018-19 without aid: $74,700
• Est. price 2018-19 with average grant: $31,500
• Percent with need who get grants: 98%
• Average student debt: $19,400
• Early career earnings: $59,500

MONEY used research and expert advice on education quality, financing, and value to create its rankings. Princeton University in New Jersey ranked No. 1 overall with a median SAT/ACT score of 1500/34 and an estimated price without aid of $67,700. Money says every student at Princeton who needs a grant gets one, and the average recipient sees the estimated price fall to $19,000.

11 Illinois Colleges Named Among 384 Best By Princeton Review

The average Princeton grad accrues just $7,500 in student debt — less than half that of the No. 2 school, University of California-San Diego — and sees early career earnings of nearly $70,000.

Here are the top 10 colleges overall for the money, according to the magazine.

1. Princeton University - Princeton, NJ
2. University of California-San Diego - La Jolla, CA
3. University of California-Irvine - Irvine, CA
4. University of California-Los Angeles - Los Angeles, CA
5. Stanford University - Stanford, CA
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Cambridge, MA
7. University of California-Berkeley - Berkeley, CA
8. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College - New York, NY
9. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - Ann Arbor, MI
10. University of Virginia-Main Campus - Charlottesville, VA

If you’re looking for early returns on your investment, you may want to try MIT or Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. MIT grads see early earnings of $81,500 and Harvey Mudd alumni are just a hair below at $81,000.

When it comes to graduating and not owing money, CUNY is the place to be, with six campuses falling in the top 10 for lowest average student debt. CUNY graduates in New York City, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens typically owe between $10,000 and $12,000. CUNY Bernard M Baruch College in New York City ranked 8th overall in Money’s rankings.

If you’re looking for the best public universities, California seems to be the place to be. The Golden State is home to the four top public colleges in the country — all campuses of the University of California — and 19 of the top 50. By comparison, no other state had more than five.

Money acknowledged that money isn’t everything when it comes to college, noting that what students actually learn remains somewhat of a mystery.

“The various assessments of college student learning are controversial, few colleges use them and very few of the ones that do release the results publicly,” the authors wrote.

The researchers said they couldn’t find “good data on basic indicators” for academic rigor, such as the number of pages of writing and reading required per assignment. The authors also highlighted that they didn’t adjust the earnings data to cost of living, so some colleges located in poorer areas or areas with low costs of living may be ranked too low.

Click here to see the full rankings.

Patch national reporter Dan Hampton contributed to this article.

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