Living in Illinois and hoping to go to one of the numerous higher education institutions we have here in the state? Living anywhere in the United States and hoping to make the move to the Land of Lincoln in the noble pursuit of further education? Well here is a brief cost comparison across the educational spectrum along with some highlights of three such institutions in Illinois.
State : University of Illinois- Chicago (UIC) One of the largest universities in the state of Illinois with three separate branches as well as this writer’s Alma Mater is the University of Illinois-Chicago. The University of Illinois system consists of the Chicago branch as well as the Urbana-Champaign, and Springfield branches. This mammoth university is one of the biggest employers in the state and is a top tier research university. The Chicago branch (UIC) has a diverse student population numbering around 25,000 and consisting of both undergraduate as well as graduate students. A more careful look at the student population demographics can be obtained here. UIC has 15 different colleges to choose from in your educational pursuit and the nation’s largest medical school.
Tuition for in state students/semester – $4,882
Tuition for out of state students/semester- $11,077
Total cost of attendance in state (tuition +fees + miscellaneous)/semester – $6,732-8,650
Total cost of attendance out of state (tuition +fees + miscellaneous)/semester – $12,927-14,845
Private : Loyola University-Chicago What if you don’t envision yourself at a public university? You then always have to option to aim for one the numerous private universities available to you in Illinois. One such private university is Loyola University-Chicago located on the north side of Chicago. Loyola university is the nation’s largest Jesuit, Catholic University and has an enrollment of roughly 16,000 plus students on its campuses. It has over 71 undergraduate majors as well as a multitude of minors, master, and doctoral degrees available. The university has four different campus locations and dates back to 1870.
Tuition/semester – $16,905.00
Total cost of attendance (tuition +fees + miscellaneous)/semester – +$17,500
Community: College of Dupage Last but not least, you might be one of the many students who do not consider a 4-year degree as the right fit or you could simply want to save some money on basic courses and then transfer to a 4-year institution. This might lead you to one of the many community colleges available in Illinois that offer affordable tuition and flexible class times. One such community college is the west suburbs of Chicago is the College of Dupage (COD). The biggest community college (excluding the state of California), it has roughly an enrollment of 31,000 students each semester. COD offers 90 different certificate programs and 9 associate degrees in a variety of transferable programs. This community college, which this author is also familiar with, has recently expanded vastly and shows great potential. Not only does it offer a variety of classes for decent prices but also caters to non-traditional students who might require non-traditional class times due to work or family issues.
Tuition for in district/ credit hour – $132
Tuition for out of district/credit hour- $319
Tuition for out of state/credit hour -$389
*Tuition for in district /semester – $2112
*Tuition for out of district/semester -$5104
*Tuition for out of state/ semester – $6224
*Tuition/semester based on associate degree consisting of 64 credits.
