Bradley ranked among the top values for colleges in Illinois, study says
Bradley University was ranked the sixth-best value college in the state of Illinois, according to a new survey by a national adviser for student loans.
SmartAsset gave Bradley a score of 62.08 in its College Education Value Index, a ranking of the colleges and universities across the United States that provide the best overall value for students and their families.
Out of the top 10 schools in Illinois, Bradley's $39,837 tuition is the third-lowest, with two Metro East schools ‒ Principia College in Elsah and Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville ‒ the only two with lower cost for classes.
Bradley also ranked highly among starting salary for new graduates, with an average of $59,400 ranking the ninth-best in Illinois, tied with Lake Forest College. Out of the top 10 schools overall for value in Illinois, four others were ranked ahead of them: the University of Chicago, the Illinois Institute of Technology ‒ also in Chicago ‒ Northwestern University in Evanston, and Principia.
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Combined with more than $21,000 in scholarships, a relatively low cost of student living ‒ $16,591 ‒ and a student retention rate of 87% ‒ tied with Lake Forest and behind only Northwestern and the University of Chicago ‒ Bradley ranked higher for value than places like Galesburg's Knox College ‒ seventh on SmartAsset's list ‒ and Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington ‒ 10th on the list.
According to SmartAsset, the overall value ranking is determined through five criteria ‒ tuition cost, cost of student living, scholarships and grants provided by the school, the rate of student retention and the starting salary for new graduates.
Overall, in Illinois, Northwestern had the highest value ranking, with an overall score of 67.27. IIT and Principia followed, with Lake Forest College and the University of Chicago rounding out the top five.
Across the nation, the California Institute of Technology ‒ better known as Caltech ‒ was ranked as the best value college, with a perfect score of 100 to beat out the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University, Georgia Tech and Webb Institute for the top spot.
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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Bradley University among top value colleges in Illinois, study says
