Biomedical/Medical Engineering at Loyola University Chicago

Loyola's biomedical engineering bachelor's degree sits right at the Illinois median for first-year earnings—around $55,000 based on comparable programs statewide—but that's nearly $10,000 below what biomedical engineering graduates typically earn nationally. When you're competing for positions against Northwestern and UIUC graduates who start closer to $70,000, that gap matters. The estimated $26,000 in debt isn't extreme for a private university, yielding a debt-to-earnings ratio under 0.5, but you're paying private school tuition for public school outcomes.

Here's the practical concern: biomedical engineering is competitive enough that where you get your degree influences both your starting salary and access to research opportunities or graduate programs. Loyola has an 81% admission rate, which suggests less selectivity than the engineering powerhouses in Illinois. Similar programs in the state produce varied results—from Northwestern's $68,600 down to Illinois Tech's $48,600—and Loyola appears to fall in the middle-to-lower range based on peer data.

The question for your family is whether Loyola's specific advantages—campus culture, location, smaller class sizes—justify paying more than you'd pay at UIC or NIU for potentially similar earnings. Without actual outcome data for Loyola's program specifically, you're essentially betting on the university's reputation and fit. If your student is eyeing graduate school or wants the Chicago research ecosystem, this could work. If the goal is maximizing early career earnings, the state data suggests looking closely at Illinois' public options.