2023 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking is part of that endeavor.

Applied Economics is the 534th most popular major in the country with 618 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 94 applied economics graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” ranking looked at 4 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in applied economics. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great applied economics programs and cost less that schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the applied economics program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Applied Economics Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid” list to help you make the college decision.

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 Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid

The colleges and universities below are the best for great lakes region applied economics students with aid.

Top 4 Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics in the Great Lakes Region (With Aid)

1

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan

#1 in overall quality

$14,878 Average Net Price

$58,051 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 65 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

U-M also made our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend U-M is $14,878 for Great Lakes Region Applied Economics students with aid.

The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is 1.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full U-M Applied Economics Report

2

Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, Michigan

#3 in overall quality

$15,127 Average Net Price

$43,401 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Eastern Michigan University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. This fairly large school is located in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and it awarded 4 ’s applied economics degrees in 2020-2021.

Eastern Michigan did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region” list. The yearly cost to attend Eastern Michigan is $15,127 for Great Lakes Region Applied Economics students with aid.

Read full report on Applied Economics at Eastern Michigan

3

Bowling Green State University - Main Campus
Bowling Green, Ohio

#4 in overall quality

$18,558 Average Net Price

$40,036 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Bowling Green State University - Main Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid. Located in Bowling Green, Ohio, this fairly large public school handed out 6 degrees to qualified ’s applied economics students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at BGSU, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. It costs about $18,558 for great lakes region applied economics students with aid per year to attend BGSU.

Read full report on Applied Economics at Bowling Green State University - Main Campus

4

Marquette University
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

#2 in overall quality

$30,380 Average Net Price

$52,581 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 4 schools in the Best Value Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region For Those Getting Aid that were part of this year’s ranking, Marquette University landed the #4 spot on the list. Marquette University is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s applied economics degrees to qualified students.

In addition to being on our great lakes region applied economics students with aid list, Marquette has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Applied Economics Schools in the Great Lakes Region” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Marquette University is $30,380 for great lakes region applied economics students with aid.

The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read more about Applied Economics at Marquette

• Best Value Colleges for Applied Economics (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 pixabay.