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Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois

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2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois

Highlighting Quality Schools With More Affordable Pricing

15 Colleges
$35,316 Avg Tuition & Fees*
$46,021 Avg Salary

Finding the Best General Education School for You

In 2020-2021, general education students earned 453 degrees and certificates from an Illinois school, making the subject the 6th in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for teaching students. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house. Also there are many trade schools that offer short-term programs that open up more career options.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Teaching Degree Search has developed this Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Our analysis looked at 15 schools in Illinois to see which programs offered the best value experiences for education students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

Our ranking of value is based on the quality of a program as defined in our per sticker price dollar. Specifically, our score for quality is discounted by the published tuition and fees charged by the given college. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The more quality your dollar buys, the better the value.

In our regional and nationwide rankings, out-of-state tution and fees are used in our calculations. For statewide rankings, we use average in-state tuition and fees.

2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois

Check out the education programs at these schools if you want to get the best value for your educational dollar.

Top 10 Best General Education Schools

$17,634 Average Tuition & Fees

Our analysis found University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to be the best value school for general education students who want to pursue a degree in Illinois. UIUC is a fairly large public school located in the city of Champaign.

UIUC undergraduate students pay an average of $17,634 in in-state tuition and fees each year. The average amount in student loans that education majors at UIUC take out is $20,500.

In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, UIUC is ranked #5 for overall quality for education in Illinois.

Full General Education at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Report

$13,297 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Western Illinois University. The school came in at #2 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois list. WIU is a medium-sized public school located in the town of Macomb.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at WIU are $13,297 a year.

Read More…

$14,738 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northern Illinois University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Dekalb, NIU is a public college with a large student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at NIU are $14,738 a year.

Read full report on General Education at Northern Illinois University

#4

McKendree University

Lebanon, IL
$33,050 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend McKendree University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois list. Located in the suburb of Lebanon, McKendree is a private not-for-profit school with a small student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at McKendree are $33,050 per year.

Read full report on General Education at McKendree University

#5

North Park University

Chicago, IL
$33,050 Average Tuition & Fees

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend North Park University. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois list. North Park is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large city of Chicago.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at North Park are $33,050 a year.

Read More…

#6

Rockford University

Rockford, IL
$34,000 Average Tuition & Fees

Rockford University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #6 on the list. Rockford is a small private not-for-profit school located in the city of Rockford.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Rockford are $34,000 per year.

Read More…

#7

Trinity Christian College

Palos Heights, IL
$33,275 Average Tuition & Fees

Trinity Christian College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #7 on the list. Trinity Christian is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Palos Heights.

Trinity Christian undergraduate students pay an average of $33,275 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read More…

#8

Concordia University, Chicago

River Forest, IL
$34,310 Average Tuition & Fees

Concordia University, Chicago came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois ranking. Located in the suburb of River Forest, Concordia University, Chicago is a private not-for-profit college with a medium-sized student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Concordia University, Chicago are $34,310 a year.

Read More…

#9

Elmhurst University

Elmhurst, IL
$39,400 Average Tuition & Fees

Elmhurst University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Value General Education Schools in Illinois list. Elmhurst is a small private not-for-profit school located in the suburb of Elmhurst.

Elmhurst undergraduate students pay an average of $39,400 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on General Education at Elmhurst University

#10

Dominican University

River Forest, IL
$35,420 Average Tuition & Fees

Dominican University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for general education students. It came in at #10 on the list. Dominican U is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of River Forest.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Dominican U are $35,420 a year.

Full General Education at Dominican University Report

Best Value General Education Colleges in the Great Lakes Region

Explore all the Best Value General Education Schools in the Great Lakes Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
Ohio 706
Indiana 502
Michigan 700
Wisconsin 515

One of 14 majors within the teaching area of study, general education has other similar majors worth exploring.

Education Concentrations

Major Annual Graduates
General Education 29,810

Majors Similar to Education

Related Major Annual Graduates
Teacher Education Grade Specific 110,226
Educational Administration 46,469
Teacher Education Subject Specific 43,297
Special Education 36,792
Curriculum & Instruction 19,832

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 15 schools only.

  • 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 the rest 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).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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