2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its “Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

In 2019-2020, 3,546 people earned their degree in legal studies, making the major the 225th most popular in the United States.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 293 legal studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 180 legal studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,075 and $25,381 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking, we looked at 4 colleges that offer a degree in legal studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality legal studies programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the legal studies program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid.

Top 4 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Studies in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

#1

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Madison, Wisconsin

#2 in overall quality

$17,708 Average Net Price

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. University of Wisconsin - Madison is located in Madison, Wisconsin and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 97 bachelors’s legal studies degrees to qualified students.

UW - Madison not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. It costs about $17,708 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Legal Studies students with aid per year to attend University of Wisconsin - Madison.

The student loan default rate at the school is 0.8%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Legal Studies at UW - Madison

#2

University of Illinois at Springfield

Springfield, Illinois

#4 in overall quality

$12,477 Average Net Price

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Springfield. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid list. Located in Springfield, Illinois, this small public school handed out 7 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s legal studies students in 2019-2020.

UIS did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend UIS is $12,477 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Legal Studies students with aid.

Read more about Legal Studies at University of Illinois at Springfield

#3

Oakland University

Rochester Hills, Michigan

#3 in overall quality

$11,802 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Oakland University landed the #3 spot on the list. This fairly large school is located in Rochester Hills, Michigan, and it awarded 3 bachelors’s legal studies degrees in 2019-2020.

Oakland also made our “Best Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #3. The yearly cost to attend Oakland University is $11,802 for great lakes region bachelor’s degree legal studies students with aid.

Full Oakland Legal Studies Report

#4

Northwestern University

Evanston, Illinois

#1 in overall quality

$24,664 Average Net Price

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Legal Studies Schools for a Bachelor’s in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Northwestern University landed the #4 spot on the list. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 20 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Northwestern also made our “Best Legal Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $24,664 for Great Lakes Region Bachelor’s Degree Legal Studies students with aid per year to attend Northwestern.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read more about Legal Studies at Northwestern

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Legal Studies (With Aid)

Notes and References

References

• 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 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).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to The wub.

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