ADBLOCK #102
College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2026 Best Value Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician Schools in Illinois

1 Colleges in the United States
$19,187 Avg Student Debt
$53,390 Avg Median Earnings (10yr)
2026 Best Value Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician Badge [Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician](/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/) degree programs vary widely in price and payoff across the country. The best values balance affordable tuition against strong post-graduation earnings.

To produce this 2026 ranking, College Factual evaluated 1 schools on the balance of cost and outcomes for automotive engineering technology/technician students.

What’s on this page:

ADBLOCK #159
DEBUG: Raw major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Initial offers_url = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json", major_slug = ""
DEBUG: After cleaning major_slug = ""
DEBUG: Before URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json"
DEBUG: After TrimSuffix = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json"
DEBUG: After HTTPS placeholder = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json"
DEBUG: After slash cleaning = "HTTPS_TEMP_PLACEHOLDERwww.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json"
DEBUG: After URL cleaning = "https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json"
DEBUG: offers_url = https://www.collegefactual.com/majors/engineering-technologies/mechanical-engineering-technology/automotive-engineering-technology-technician/offers.json
DEBUG: major_slug = ""
DEBUG: offers_url is valid, proceeding to fetch data
DEBUG: offers_data.offers found, count = 1
DEBUG: Specific major detected (cip4 = 15.08), keeping min_relevance at 0.8
DEBUG: Starting relevance filtering - min_relevance = 0.8, max_relevance = 1
DEBUG: Checking offer "Trade & Vocational Programs (Automotive & Engine Repair)" with relevance 0.8
DEBUG: ✓ Offer "Trade & Vocational Programs (Automotive & Engine Repair)" ACCEPTED (relevance 0.8)
DEBUG: relevant_offers count = 1
DEBUG: relevant_offers > 0, checking for ESYOH offers
DEBUG: ESYOH filtering - found 1 ESYOH offers with relevance >= 0.8
DEBUG: esyoh_offers count = 1
DEBUG: ESYOH offers found, rendering ESYOH widget
DEBUG: most_relevant_only = true, filtering for most relevant
DEBUG: Found 0 offers with relevance >= 1.0
DEBUG: Backfilling with 0 offers with relevance >= 0.9
DEBUG: Backfilling with 1 offers with relevance >= 0.8

2026 Best Value Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician Schools in Illinois

Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in automotive engineering technology/technician, balancing cost against outcomes.

Best Value Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician Schools

1

For return on investment in automotive engineering technology/technician, no school beat Southern Illinois University Carbondale this year. Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a large public school located in the town of Carbondale. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $13,334. Typical student debt for automotive engineering technology/technician graduates is $19,187. Automotive Engineering Technology/technician graduates of Southern Illinois University Carbondale earn a median of $62,503 early in their careers. Set against $19,187 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 87% of applicants are accepted.

ADBLOCK #173
View All Automotive Engineering Technology/Technician Rankings >

ADBLOCK #115

Notes and References

This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).

Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.

*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

ADBLOCK #116

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs
ADBLOCK #613

Compare Your School Options