2022 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Michigan

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking.

Public Policy is the 116th most popular major in the country with 6,199 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $52,077 and had an average of $35,743 in loans still to pay off.

Across Michigan, there were 236 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $56,000 and $23,907 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in public policy. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public policy 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 public policy 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

The public policy school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k”.

To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in Michigan

#1

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor, Michigan

#1 in overall quality

$3,166 Average Net Price

$56,526 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. The school came in at #1 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a public institution located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The school has a large population, and it awarded 195 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also made our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend U-M is $3,166 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.2%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

#2

Michigan State University

East Lansing, Michigan

#2 in overall quality

$6,686 Average Net Price

$45,711 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Michigan State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k. This large school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 35 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

Michigan State also took the #2 spot in our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Michigan State is $6,686 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.6%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Public Policy at Michigan State University

#3

University of Michigan - Dearborn

Dearborn, Michigan

#3 in overall quality

$6,751 Average Net Price

$47,536 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Michigan - Dearborn. The school came in at #3 for the Best Value Public Policy Schools in Michigan For Those Making $0-$30k. This medium-sized school is located in Dearborn, Michigan, and it awarded 1 ’s public policy degrees in 2019-2020.

UM Dearborn not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Schools in Michigan” list. The estimated yearly cost for UM Dearborn is $6,751 for Michigan Public Policy students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Public Policy at UM Dearborn

• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k) in the Great Lakes Region
• Best Value Colleges for Public Policy (Income $0-$30k)

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 Official CTBTO Photostream.

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